Date Night
by lizardmm
Summary: Sunnydale is no longer, and the Scoobies have all moved on. But when Buffy tries to do the same, her past keeps popping back up in the form of a certain Boston slayer. Post-Chosen.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Date Night**

Buffy stared at the plaster ceiling and sighed. She shoved the heavy comforter off her legs and torso and looked over at the clock radio on the bedside table. 9:30pm. The early hour seemed to taunt her with its large, red, illuminated numbers.

It was Friday night. Date night. The one night of the week she gave herself the night off (barring apocalypses) so that she and her boyfriend, Preston, could spend at least one uninterrupted evening together. After the fall of Sunnydale, the blonde had worked hard to form a kind of balance between being a slayer and being a twenty-something. The Chosen One hadn't really dated since Riley – if you didn't count Spike – which Buffy didn't. No, she really didn't.

The destruction of the California Hellmouth and the activation of thousands of young slayers allowed Buffy the mental assurance that at least one night a week she could take a break from being Buffy the Vampire Slayer and instead just be Buffy the Girlfriend.

There was just one problem with her plan, however. Her boyfriend was passed out in her bed.

Unable to sleep herself at the early hour, Buffy swung her bare legs out of bed and stood up. The wooden floor creaked noisily as she exited the bedroom, but the blonde slayer didn't worry about waking up her snoring boyfriend. Her unsuspecting partner could sleep through just about anything. Although she hadn't tried the apocalypse thing just yet.

Buffy had taken half the day off at her student counseling job at Cleveland High to spend the afternoon preparing for that evening's Date Night. Although she and her boyfriend of nearly six months generally went out on Fridays, the California native had spent the afternoon preparing dinner – a fancy pasta dish she had seen Giada make on the Food Network. She had gone all out, making the noodles from scratch rather than emptying the contents of a cardboard box into a pot of boiling water.

The slayer grabbed her robe off the back of her desk chair as she left the bedroom. She sighed once again when she pulled the terrycloth belt around her lithe waist. Even her new lingerie was going unappreciated tonight.

Buffy padded down the narrow hallway, picking up discarded pieces of clothing as she went. She tossed the garments into a hamper in the guest bedroom before making her way towards the kitchen. The Californian flipped on the overhead track lighting and groaned. The kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes from dinner and the burners on the gas range were cluttered with pots and pans.

"_Tomorrow_," Buffy silently promised herself. _"Tomorrow I'll pick all of this up._"

Two large table bottles of cabernet sauvignon sat on the kitchen island. One was empty while the second bottle appeared half full. Buffy grabbed a clean wine glass from the cabinets and poured herself a generous glass. The slayer stared at the maroon mixture and swirled it around, watching the centrifugal motion slur the liquid around. She took a large swallow and set her glass down on the counter top.

She should have been angry at the wine. It was the wine's fault, after all, that Preston had passed out, and why the blonde was currently feeling neglected.

Buffy took another, smaller, sip of wine and stared out the kitchen window of her Cleveland home. Although she had insisted to Giles that an apartment would have been more than enough room for her and Dawn, the Englishman had insisted she take a single-family house as her new Cleveland residence. The newly-formed Council took care of the mortgage – compensation for the past, Giles had explained – and she was responsible for utilities and her own personal expenses.

The three bedroom, one and a half bath, ranch-style house had felt empty lately. Dawn was spending the summer before her first year of college abroad, visiting Willow and Giles in Scotland, leaving her sister alone most nights if Preston was sleeping at his own apartment in the Heights.

Buffy's former Watcher had pulled some strings to get Dawn into Oxford, but the Former Key ultimately decided to go to school closer to Buffy and would be attending classes in Columbus at Ohio State in the Fall instead.

Buffy glanced at the clock on the coffeemaker – it wasn't yet ten o'clock. The blonde released another disgruntled sigh. Taking her wine glass with her, Buffy left the kitchen and sat down at the dining room table where she had left her laptop. Normally the computer remained in Buffy's bedroom, but she had brought it out so she and Preston could enjoy some ambiance music during the homemade dinner.

The slayer set her half-filled wine glass on the table and opened her laptop. The screen immediately illuminated, filling the dining room with its light. Buffy logged into her email. Dawn had tried to teach her some computer basics, but beyond email, Googling, and Youtube, the Californian's Internet acumen was still limited.

The golden-haired slayer scanned down the short list of new emails. Nothing popped out at her as especially important – discounts for , a Forward from Willow that she imagined was another joke that she wouldn't understand, and something promising to enlarge the size of her penis. She quickly deleted everything in her inbox.

Buffy swallowed another mouthful of wine and thought about the rest of the bottle sitting abandoned in the kitchen. Drinking alone didn't make her an alcoholic, did it? Was she to blame that Preston couldn't handle splitting a table bottle over dinner? The blonde had always considered herself a lightweight when it came to alcohol consumption, but her 6'1" boyfriend's performance tonight had created a new definition to that concept.

The Chosen One was about to close her laptop and admit defeat for the night when a quiet, almost imperceptible 'ping' alerted her. A small box popped up on the laptop screen: _"__**GoSox03**__ would like to chat. Do you accept?"_

Buffy furrowed her eyebrows together. Dawn had set up a chat account for her on an Instant Message program so the two could chat for free while Dawn was abroad. But with the time difference and their busy schedules, however, the two sisters hadn't been able to connect online yet.

Buffy couldn't imagine why her sister would have chosen 'GoSox03' as her screen name, but she didn't think anyone else had her online handle. Buffy didn't even know what her own handle was. The blonde clicked the 'Accept' button and the small chat window expanded.

**GoSox03: **_Hey there, stranger. What you doin at home so early on a Friday nite? Things dead on your end?_

Buffy frowned. Apparently this person knew her, but she didn't want to let on that she had no idea who was on the other end.

**Buf_E_99: **_hey there, yourself._

she responded noncommitally. Buffy took another sip of wine.

**GoSox03: **_didn't expect to see you online. Didn't think u were the type._

One of Buffy's eyebrows rose. Wasn't 'the type'? What was that supposed to mean? That she wasn't smart enough to use Chat? She snorted through her nose and rapidly typed a reply.

**Buf_E_99: **_guess I'm full of surprises._

**GoSox03: **_**laughs **__you do have a way of always surprising me, it's true._

Buffy looked perplexed. Her? Surprising? Maybe she didn't even know this person. Maybe it was one of those Spam Robots that Dawn had warned her about. Seriously, why would robots be sponsored by a meat-alternative? Technology was seriously evil.

She looked down the darkened hallway and suddenly remembered that her boyfriend was in her bed. Passed out, yes. But still in her bed. And yet here she was – awake, drinking wine, and chatting online with a stranger.

"Oh fuck it," she murmured to herself as her fingers moved over the white keyboard.

**Buf_E_99: **_So. How are things?_

**GoSox03: **_Oh, you know. Same 'ol crap, justa different city._

**Buf_E_99: **_You're in a different city?_

Buffy prodded, trying to garner more clues as to whom she was talking.

**GoSox03**_**: **__naw, I'm still in Boston. Just feels different 'cause I'm not camped out in Southie anymore. The Council's got me camped out in some swank digs. I should really call Giles to thank him._

Buffy nearly tipped over her wine glass. She suddenly realized who the stranger was.

**Buf_E_99: **_Faith?_

**GoSox03: **_Yeah?_

The Californian felt her skin momentarily flush. She hadn't talked to the brunette in nearly half a year. After Sunnydale fell, the younger slayer had stuck around Cleveland for a short while, but when the original Scoobies split up to take care of different parts of the globe, the Boston-native had returned to her hometown to help oversee the Northeast with Robin Wood. Although Buffy was always up-to-date with how their cell-operations were going, since she was still the Number One Slayer, she hadn't actually _talked _with Faith since she'd left.

**Buf_E_99: **_How did you get my online name?_

**GoSox03: **_Willow sent out an email with everyone's screen name, Blondie. She thought it might be handy if we ever had to web conference or something. Didn't you get her message? _

A tiny light bulb illuminated above the blonde's head. That must have been the Forward from her redheaded friend that she had deleted without reading. Willow must have gotten her handle from Dawn, she guessed.

Now that she knew it was Faith, and not a random stranger on the other end of the computer connection, the blonde suddenly was at a loss for conversation. She could make small-chat with a random person, but not her sister-Slayer. Buffy stared, intimidated by the screen and the blinking cursor awaiting her next words.

**GoSox03: **_you still there, B?_

**Buf_E_99:**___uh, yeah. Just went to the kitchen to get some more wine_

she lied.

**GoSox03: **_**grins**__ nice work, Blondie. Now I won't feel like I'm an alcoholic, drinking this beer by myself. We can be drinking buddies. _

**Buf_E_99: **_I've gotta warn you. I'm a bit of a lightweight. You might drink me under the table._

**GoSox03: **_I promise to behave myself if you get too trashed. Scouts honor. I'll keep my hands to myself and everything. __**wiggles eyebrows**_

**Buf_E_99: **_Sure this is really Faith? 'Cause the Faith I know wouldn't promise something like that._

**GoSox03: **_Maybe we should get re-acquainted then…_

Buffy paused before responding. She re-read the brunette's words carefully. Was Faith flirting with her? Was she flirting back? And was she actually having _fun_ doing so?

**GoSox03: **_Still there? Or, getting more wine?_

**Buf_E_99:**___Here. Still here. What are you doing tonight?_

**GoSox03: **_Honestly? Just came in from an early patrol. Now I'm looking at porn._

**Buf_E_99: **_You so are not._

**GoSox03: **_I so am too. Want me to send ya some links to keep you warm?_

The blonde slayer's eyes flipped wide open. If she had been drowsy before, she was wide awake now. She furiously typed a response so Faith didn't think she was actually considering her offer.

**Buf_E_99: **_Ohmygod. Don't you dare._

**GoSox03: **_You sure? I bet it's chilly in Cleveland tonight._

**Buf_E_99: **_Thanks for the offer, but I'm okay. Besides, I'm sure my boyfriend wouldn't appreciate me looking at porn._

**GoSox03: **_Oooooh. Boyfriend? Lookit you, Blondie getting yourself some. So where's your boy-toy tonight? Must not be that good of a guy to leave you all by yourself on this chilly Friday night ;)_

Buffy bristled. Sure Preston might have passed out after a few glasses of wine, but that didn't give Faith the right to make fun of him. That was her job, not the Boston slayer's.

**Buf_E_99: **_Preston is a great guy. In fact, he's coming over soon. Fridays are our date nights. He just had to work late tonight_.

**GoSox03: **_Working late, eh? Isn't that code for "I'm cheating on you with someone in the office?"_

**Buf_E_99: **_He's not cheating on me. That's not what that means. Don't forget that WE 'work late' all the time._

**GoSox03: **_True, but something tells me Preston isn't a Slayer. Unless you found yourself another demon-hunter? Or wait, he's not a vampire is he? That must be it. ____Some things never change, do they B?_

Buffy fumed. Leave it to Faith to upset her, even from a different time zone.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard.

**Buf_E_99:**___Like how you still run your mouth about things you know nothing about?_

There was a pregnant pause in the conversation. Buffy could tell that Faith was typing. The IM screen told her as much, but it took a few moments before the Boston girl eventually posted her response.

**GoSox03:**___I'm sorry, B. I was just joking. I didn't mean anything by it. This internet stuff is crap. You can't hear my tone of voice, ya know? _

**GoSox03: **_I'm sorry. Really._

Buffy sighed. It didn't make sense to stay angry at the Boston girl over words typed on a computer screen from different state lines.

**Buf_E_99: **_Okay. Apology accepted._

**GoSox03: **_**wipes brow with hand**__ phew. _

**Buf_E_99: **_You're such a dork._

**GoSox03: **_Takes one to know one._

**Buf_E_99: **_Have you been hanging out with my sister? Cause seriously. I haven't heard that comeback since I was a teenager._

**GoSox03: **_Hah. And that was a LONNNNGGGG time ago. You're way old._

**Buf_E_99: **_I am not! _

**GoSox03: **_Still look good for being such an oldie though __**winks**_

Buffy smiled despite the backhanded compliment.

**Buf_E_99: **_Such the charmer you are._

**GoSox03: **_I told ya, B. Some things never change._

**GoSox03: **_So is your boyfriend there yet?_

**Buf_E_99: **_Uh, no. Not yet._

**GoSox03: **_Lucky me. I still get ya all to myself for a little longer._

Buffy ignored the blatant flirting; it was too much of Faith's personality for the blonde to ever take it seriously. Faith flirted, it seemed, with everyone.

**Buf_E_99: **_So why are YOU online tonight on Friday night? If you just got done with patrol, shouldn't you be out eating or…doing other things?_

**GoSox03: **_I'm waiting on some delivery pizza. And as for the "doing other things" that's why I was lookin' at porn._

**Buf_E_99: **_Oh, huh. Well that makes sense then._

Buffy stared at the illuminate screen and flexed her fingers. A question was pricking at the back of her thoughts, but she didn't know if it was out of line to ask. After all, it's not like she and Faith had _ever _talked about their personal lives like this.

**Buf_E_99: **_So if you're at home, uh, working off your post-slaying…energy…does that mean you're not dating anyone?_

**GoSox03: **_**snorts **__I've never exactly dated anyone, B. Not really my style._

**Buf_E_99: **_What about Robin?_

**GoSox03: **_Old Woodie?_

**Buf_E_99: **_Oh____God. Don't ever call him that. Never ever again._

**GoSox03: **_**Snickers**__ sorry, Princess. I forget I gotta censor myself around you. Don't wanna offend your virginal eyes._

**Buf_E_99: **_My eyes are not virginal. They've witnessed plenty of non-virginal things. I just don't like to think about co-workers…like that._

**GoSox03: **_Really? You've never thought about Robin with that dark chocolate skin…all shirtless and sweaty and…_

**Buf_E_99: **_I'm seriously logging off. If I knew how I even logged on in the first place._

**GoSox03: **_Oh, c'mon, B. I'm just playing around. I'm sorry. Again._

Buffy sighed and stared at the screen. She blew a long breath out of her mouth, dislodging a few errant strands of golden-blonde hair.

**Buf_E_99: **_Things never have been easy between us, have they?_

**GoSox03: **_Guess not._

Buffy stared at the screen, not sure what to say next.

**GoSox03: **_Hold up, B. Apartment just got buzzed. Probably the pizza dude. Brb._

The blonde slayer continued to sit at the dining room table in front of her open laptop. She paused to take a large sip from the oversized wine glass. Buffy wasn't sure why she was still hanging around. It's not like she and Faith were even getting along _online. _But it's not like she had more attractive options at the moment, either.

**GoSox03: **_Okay, I'm back._

**Buf_E_99: **_What? Not making out with the pizza guy?_

The blonde smiled smugly and silently congratulated herself for the snarky jab. Something about the younger slayer had always made her tongue-tied and vocabulary-challenged…well more than usual. Chatting online, however, offered her a split-second longer to contemplate her responses rather than stare, with her mouth agape, like she usually did around Faith.

**GoSox03: **_It actually turned out to be a pizza_ GIRL_, but I wasn't really feeling her. Hah. Feeling her._

Buffy nearly spit out the wine swirling around in her mouth. She sputtered slightly before stumbling over a reply. Even the internet lag-time couldn't prepare her for _that _statement.

**Buf_E_99: **_I…didn't realize you, uh,_ liked_ girls._

**GoSox03: **_What can I say, B? Red's not the Original._

Well that was a revelation. Sure Buffy wasn't blind to all the flirting the dark-haired girl had always thrown her way, and yes she had spent some time in an all-female prison. But that didn't automatically mean anything, did it?

**GoSox03: **_I guess I should be getting offline or something. Hard to eat pizza, look at porn,_ and_ talk to you._

**Buf_E_99: **_You're still looking at porn and talking to me at the same time?_

**GoSox03: **_Sorry, Twinkie. You'd have to step up your game for me to turn off the porn._

**Buf_E_99: **_Step up my game?_

**GoSox03: **_You know __**wiggles eyebrows**__ tellin' me what you're wearing…where your hand is traveling…_

Buffy's jaw dropped. Her fingers typed a hasty reply.

**Buf_E_99: **_I'm not _that_ drunk._

**GoSox03: ** _Tsk. Tsk. Too bad. A girl can always dream though, I suppose. Of course in _my_ dreams you're always in some hot little outfit from Victoria's Secret._

Buffy choked. Her eyes flit to every corner of the room. Oh my God. Was there one of those web cameras set up and she didn't know it?

**Buf_E_99: **_I'm not that good with computers…uhm…but you can't actually _SEE _me, can you?_

**GoSox03: **_LMAO. Dude, you're not really wearing some slinky little thing, are you?_

Buffy felt her face flush a million shades of red and was more than thankful her sister-Slayer couldn't see her reaction.

**Buf_E_99**_: It's for Preston. It's not like I just regularly wear stuff like this._

**GoSox03: **_Hot dog. Well, Preston's one lucky dude then. But anyway, B. I should probs be going and I'm sure you've gotta get all sexed up for your boy-toy. Nice chatting with ya._

Buffy sat for a millisecond longer than she should have before typing a reply. She was surprised she actually felt…disappointed?...that Faith was logging off. She must _really _be hard up for some company for that to happen.

**Buf_E_99: **_Night, Faith._

_**GoSox03 has logged off**_

Buffy didn't bother logging off, but simply closed the top lid of her laptop. She sat in the darkness of the dining room for a few moments.

Even though Preston had managed to ruin Date Night, the chat with her sister-Slayer had been an unexpected and yet welcomed distraction. She felt…lighter…for some reason.

Finally, leaving her laptop and her now-empty wine glass behind, Buffy made her way down the hallway and slipped into bed next to her deeply slumbering boyfriend.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Another Date Night**

Buffy sat in bed and rubbed at her throbbing temples. She couldn't read any more of her trashy romance novel, but it was too early to justify sleeping. Watching TV was out of the question, too – all the Christmas specials just reminded her how painfully alone she was this holiday. Even her boyfriend had abandoned her tonight.

"Another Date Night ruined," she grumbled to herself.

The evening had been going fine. She and Preston had a nice dinner together downtown before going to the Christmas tree lot next to the gas station near her house. It was going to be her first December away from California and away from her family and friends. Dawn was busy wrapping up her first quarter at Ohio State University and the rest of the Scoobies were enjoying their new homes around the globe. Buffy and Dawn had plans to go to Europe to see Willow, Kennedy, and Giles for New Years, but anything before that was impractical with her work schedule and slaying responsibilities.

Buffy knew there would be Christmas trees and Hanukkah bushes in Scotland when she visited, but she didn't want to go the entire month in Cleveland feeling like a Scrooge. Besides, her mom had always insisted on getting a real tree, regardless of the price – it was a Summers family tradition.

But even before she and Preston could bring the modest-sized tree back to her house, the couple had gotten into a fight. The worst part was, Buffy couldn't even remember now why they had been fighting. Maybe it was because her boyfriend always insisted on driving even though it was _her_ car. Or maybe it was because he had told her to get a spruce tree instead of the balsam she wanted. But whatever the reason, Buffy was now back at home on a Friday night – alone in bed – with an undecorated tree in her living room.

The blonde breathed out deeply and closed her eyes. Maybe this 'normal life' stuff wasn't as coveted as she once had thought.

Closing her book and placing it on the bedside table, Buffy reached over and flipped off the reading lamp on her bedside table. She lay on her back, engulfed by darkness, and willed sleep to come.

But it wouldn't.

Throwing the duvet cover off her body, the blonde slayer sat up in bed, throwing her legs over the edge of the mattress. Buffy made a frustrated noise. Maybe decorating the tree would make her feel better. Or, perhaps it would just make her want to slit her wrists.

Either way, it would be a welcomed distraction from the fact that her Friday night was once again ruined.

Buffy trudged into the living room and grabbed a handful of stringed lights from a large plastic bin. She scowled at the nest of knots in the LED lights. No matter how neat she or Dawn had put away the lights the previous year, they were always a chaotic mess the following Christmas season. The golden-haired slayer was convinced evil gnomes had something to do with it.

As the California native began to untangle a single strand of lights, her eyes rested on her laptop, which sat on the living room couch. Although strangely she felt like she was doing something she shouldn't be doing, Buffy abandoned the hopeless string of Christmas lights and flipped open the lid of her laptop. The computer immediate started up, greeting the blonde with a small noise.

Not sitting down, Buffy opened her Instant Messenger program and logged on. She scrolled her list of 'Friends', online and offline, but frowned when she saw the screen name 'GoSox03' was currently offline.

Buffy flicked her eyes toward the clock on the fireplace mantle. It was just after 11 o'clock. The blonde felt a mysterious stirring in the pit of her stomach upon discovering that the Boston girl wasn't online and that it had grown so late. Maybe, she reasoned, she'd missed her online earlier and Faith had gone to do something else.

She and Faith didn't religiously talk, but it had almost become part of her nightly routine. Buffy would return from patrol, grab herself a glass of wine, and log on to chat with the Boston girl. Faith normally got home from slaying by at least 10 o'clock; she was responsible for the first shift of patrol starting at sunset and younger slayers took over for the latter half of the night and patrolled the city of Boston into the early hours. It was one of the perks she'd allowed herself as the East Coast's senior slayer.

The Boston girl boasted the early patrol afforded her more time to go clubbing afterwards; but Buffy had noticed that since they'd reconnected, the Boston girl had significantly curbed her late night extracurriculars. The blonde didn't contribute it to anything, however, maybe just as a sign that Faith was getting older and took less joy out of staying out all night, dancing, boozing, and sexing-up random strangers.

Buffy closed the laptop lid with a heavy sigh and went back to attempting to de-tangle Christmas lights. At the rate she was going, however, decorating the tree might take her all week. Plus, doing this all on her own felt joyless. Some of her fondest memories of her mom and sister had been decorating the Christmas tree and drinking hot chocolate while listening to Holiday albums. She had hoped that she and Preston would have made a new memory tonight of their first Christmas as a couple, and the only memory she had now was of petty bickering. All in all, she decided, her first real holiday on her own was turning out to be a giant disappointment.

The blonde slayer pulled a dining room chair from its set and carried it to the living room in order to better reach the top of the still-bare Christmas tree. Although the lights were still tangled, she felt as though she needed to hang _something _on the tree or she'd go insane.

Buffy nearly fell from the chair she was standing on when the telephone rang unexpectedly. The cordless phone rang shrilly from its discarded location on the coffee table.

When Buffy hastily picked up the phone on its third ring, a familiar husky voice flooded the line: "Hey sexy," the woman on the other end purred. "What are you wearing?"

Buffy laughed despite her formerly disgruntled mood. "Wouldn't _you _like to know?" she teased back.

"I keep askin', but you keep holding out on the details," the feminine, but raspy voice complained.

Buffy looked down at her outfit. "Well, if you really must know," she started with a chuckle, "I'm wearing a ratty old t-shirt and flannel pajama pants."

"Oooo," the other girl cooed. "You sure know how to get me hot. I'm _so _into Lumberjack Chic." Faith couldn't help but tease the elder slayer. "For real, you're in your pajamas already?"

Buffy sighed and her mouth twisted into a frown. "I'm an old lady, Faith. What can I say?"

"Guess I should hop on the next plane and come over then," the Boston girl noted. "Liven things up for ya. You're probably even more of a lightweight than normal," she snickered. "Then I can get you drunk and have my way with you."

The Californian smirked, but didn't take the bait. Each time she and the younger slayer chatted, either on the phone or over the internet, Faith became more and more brazen with her flirtations. For the most part, Buffy did little to encourage the Boston girl, but she also hadn't put a stop to it. If she really let herself think about it, the brunette's attentions were a flattering and needed distraction most evenings.

"So where's Presto tonight?" Faith asked in a nonchalant tone after it was clear the Californian wasn't going to continue the one-sided flirtations.

"I wish you wouldn't call him that," the blonde complained.

After that first initial night online when Preston had passed out prematurely, the two former enemies had grown closer. But with the increased communication over the past few months, also came a slight undertone of bitterness from the Boston girl whenever the elder girl mentioned her significant other.

"Fine. Where's Prest_on_?" the darker slayer huffed, emphasizing the second syllable just for her sister-Slayer. "I thought you guys would be gettin' horizontal with each other by this hour."

"Classy as always, Faith," Buffy curtly replied.

The brunette grunted a short laugh on the other end of the phone. "You wouldn't love me half as much if I changed, B. Don't lie to yourself."

"He has to work early at the office tomorrow morning," the elder slayer lied, purposefully ignoring that the Boston girl had dropped the L-word. "So he just left, actually."

Buffy didn't know why she felt compelled to lie to Faith when it came to the status of her relationship with Preston. But some part of her needed Faith to believe that her relationship with the boy was ideal. She could tell Willow, she could tell Dawn, she probably could even tell Xander, that things weren't always picture-perfect with the Cleveland boy, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words to Faith.

_What was that about?_

"So did you patrol tonight?" Faith asked casually. "Kill any Big Bads?"

"No," the blonde revealed. "Rona and Vi take patrol for me Friday nights, remember?"

"Ah, that's right," the Boston girl chuckled. "The Boss gets the night off."

"And you don't think I deserve a night off?" Buffy challenged.

Faith seemed to ignore the hostile tone. "Honestly?" she stated, her voice raising an octave. "I think you deserve to retire. But I know you're not ever gonna slow down. That's not you."

Buffy felt her rising anger falter at Faith's words. "No," she sighed. The blonde rubbed at her face. "No, it's not."

The Californian abandoned decorating the Christmas tree momentarily and sat down on her couch. She pulled her legs up into her torso and grabbed a nearby afghan to wrap up in.

"So what's up with you tonight?" Buffy asked. "Tough patrol?" She didn't want to point out that it was later than usual for the two slayers to be talking, or press the reasoning behind it. The elder girl didn't want it to seem like she was keeping tabs on the other slayer.

"Naw. It's seriously slow over here," Faith complained. "It's making me all itchy; I haven't had a good slay in weeks."

"The calm before the storm?" the blonde asked, interested. Evil had a bad habit of quieting down right before it imploded.

"I dunno," the Boston girl yawned. "Is it bad that I'm missing there being some kind of apocalypse? I feel like we haven't really had, yunno, Impending Doom in a while."

The Chosen One chuckled. "Well maybe if you've been a _really_ good girl this year, Santa will get you an apocalypse for Christmas."

"Fat chance that's gonna happen," Faith snickered. Her tone suddenly dropped an octave. "You know I've never been a good girl."

Buffy felt a small chill descend her spine. The Boston girl's husky burr, even over the phone, always had that affect on her. If the slaying gig didn't work out for her, there was always the age-old profession of phone-sex operator.

"Speaking of Santa," Buffy continued, wanting to quickly change the subject, "do you have plans for Christmas?"

Faith snorted into the receiver. "What do you think?"

"You wouldn't want to…maybe…come _here_, would you?" Buffy asked. "Spend the holiday in Cleveland?"

"Wouldn't want to impose," the Boston girl said gruffly.

"You wouldn't be imposing at all," the blonde immediately insisted. "Dawn's still at school, and Will's in Scotland with Kennedy and Giles, and who knows where Xander is these days…so I don't really have any plans this year."

"You and Prez-man don't have plans?" the dark-haired girl asked suspiciously.

Buffy ignored Faith's continued refusal to refer to her boyfriend by anything other than his real name. "No," she admitted. "We haven't talked about it, actually. I didn't want to make plans with him in case the End of the World happened," she laughed. "I'm sure his parents would be disappointed."

"I bet his parentals adore you, eh?" Faith teased. There was no bitterness in her voice, only mirth.

"Can we not talk about Preston and his family?" the blonde countered.

Although Preston had repeatedly tried to get Buffy to meet his parents, somehow slaying had always gotten in the way. It was a touchy subject for Buffy because her boyfriend continually accused her of purposely ducking out of plans he'd made with them. She tried to convince him otherwise, but even she wasn't certain why she was dragging her feet when it came to meeting his family.

The Californian could almost hear the shrug across the telephone line. "Sure, B," Faith breezed. "No skin off my back. What do ya wanna talk about instead?"

"I don't know," the blonde sighed. "You pick a topic."

Faith chuckled mischievously. "That's dangerous, Blondie. You of all people should know when given the chance I bring all conversations back to sex."

Buffy couldn't help but smirk. "Well, we all know that's not happening…so another topic. Please," she implored.

The Boston girl let out a disgruntled, yet playful sigh. "Fine, have it your way."

"I'm sorry," the blonde apologized quickly. "I'm just in a funk," she explained. "I think I need a topic that'll get my mind off of some stuff."

"Stuff?" Faith asked, her interest perking. "Like what?"

Buffy hesitated and momentarily considered revealing her recent dissatisfaction with her boyfriend. Instead, she settled for vagueness: "Just some stuff."

There was a brief pause before the dark-haired slayer continued. "Alright, well if you're not willing to share….How about this –what's one of your happy places?"

"Happy place?" Buffy questioned.

"Ya know…like where are you the most happy?" Faith explained.

The Californian thought about the question briefly. "Um…at home with Dawn and the gang, I guess?"

Faith made a noise. "That's boring, B. Pass."

Buffy gave a disgruntled snort. "Fine. How about dancing?" she remarked. "I haven't been to a club in a while," she noted.

"Alright," the Boston girl agreed. "I can work with that. Go turn on some music."

"Why?" the Chosen one questioned.

"Do you want me to help you get happy or not, B?" Faith asked, the mild impatience tinting her tone. "Stop questioning me and just do it, already. And make sure it's something you could dance to."

"Fine," the blonde huffed, but obeyed the Boston girl's command.

While still on the phone with the dark-haired slayer, she went to the home theater system where her iPod was perched in a speaker dock. She wasn't exactly sure how all the gizmos in her house worked – that was all Dawn's doing – but she could at least turn on music. She flipped through a brief selection of songs before settling on Framing Hanley's cover of "Lollipop."

"Nice choice," the younger slayer approved when she heard the thick bass and melodic notes filter over the phone line.

Faith was mildly surprised by the blonde's song choice, having expected something more embarrassingly Top 40 like Britney Spears. The song seemed more _her _style than the Californian's, but she didn't comment on it. "Now go lay down on the couch or something and close your eyes," she commanded.

Buffy opened her mouth to once again question her sister-Slayer, but realizing it would only garner her more frustration from the Boston girl, she wordlessly obeyed. She grabbed a throw pillow and propped her head up while stretching the rest of her figure over the expanse of the couch.

"Are you laying down?" Faith asked after a few moments.

"Mmhmm," the blonde confirmed. "I'm on the couch in the living room."

"Good," Faith noted. "Now I want you listen to the music and think of a club. It doesn't have to be one you've ever been at, but I want you to picture this place in your mind," she said. "It's dark, but different colored lights are flashing on the dance floor, giving off just enough light."

"The floor is crowded, but not too crowded," Faith continued in her even tone. "There's just enough bodies there that you can lose yourself to the music. Lose yourself, B," she said huskily. "Everything about this place is beckoning for you to come shake your ass. Bodies are moving in time with the music, no longer individuals, but one giant mass of grinding flesh."

Buffy remained on the couch with her eyes closed and imagined everything that Faith described in vivid details. With her ears filled with music pounding from the home theater and Faith's voice in her head, she was there. She was on the dance floor. She could almost smell the sweat of close, dancing bodies. She could almost taste the humidity in the air.

"Remember how we used to let loose after patrol?" the brunette noted. "I remember how you became a different person on the dance floor. You were unrestricted…you came alive."

Dancing had always been her outlet, for as far back as she could remember. Whether ice dancing, cheerleading, or letting loose after a good slay, she could find release. Despite whatever turmoil she was experiencing in her life, all she needed was music and a crowded dance floor where she could forget her responsibilities. Dancing had always been her escape.

Her body felt inexplicably light and yet energized as she lay on her couch in Cleveland, Ohio. As Faith continued to murmur in her ear, Buffy felt free, without worries, and without anxieties as she let her mind take her to a different place.

"You know what," Buffy commented, interrupting the Boston girl's tale, "this is actually helping."

Faith snickered. "Don't act so surprised, Twinkie."

"Where did you get this idea?" Buffy asked, mildly impressed that the dark-haired girl had so easily gotten her to relax.

Faith made an indistinguishable noise. "Eh, was just a calming mechanism they taught us in prison," she admitted without shame. "To help us manage anger and shit like that."

"You can continue now," the blonde said matter-of-factly.

The Boston girl chuckled. "Anyone ever tell you that you're kinda bossy, B?"

"Yes, but I'm hot enough to get away with it," the elder girl lightly laughed.

Faith sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, so back to the club…"

Buffy sat up on the couch. "What? You don't think I'm hot enough to get away with it?" she pouted.

"No disagreement on this end, B," the dark-haired slayer said quickly. "I'm just trying to get you to a happy place…not trying to charm my way into your pants."

The Californian laughed. "Well that's a relief."

"Stop interrupting me, woman," Faith joked. "I can't give ya a happy if you keep distracting me."

Feeling suddenly stiff, Buffy stretched out her legs more fully, extending her toes. She stretched her midsection as well and made a small, moaning noise. Faith paused and cleared her throat upon hearing the very sexual sound.

"Why'd you stop talking?" Buffy asked.

"If you keep making those noises," the brunette commented in earnest, "I'd happily become mute."

Buffy smiled. "I thought you weren't trying to get into my pants?" she teased, picking at imaginary lint on the blanket covering her legs.

"Or get you _out_ of them," Faith noted with a wicked grin.

Buffy scoffed. "You're such a dork."

"Oh yeah?" Faith challenged lightly. "Well, this dork can stop talking about this club, ya know."

"No, no," the blonde insisted. "Keep going."

"I'm actually kinda out of ideas, B," Faith admitted. "I can only do details so much, ya know? I'm not an expert at this kinda stuff."

The California sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

Detecting the disappointment in Buffy's voice, Faith decided to try something else. "How about this? We make this situation a little more fun," she proposed.

"How so?" Buffy asked suspiciously.

"Just work with me on this one," the dark-haired girl started, "but let's just say you've been dancing all night…gettin' hot and heavy. Well what if in the middle of your dancing, some chick starts dancing up on ya. Would you be okay with that?"

Buffy considered the odd question. "Sure, I guess. I mean, I've danced with Willow and some of the other girls before. As long as she isn't molesting me," she lightly laughed, "I'm fine with that."

"What if she wanted to do shots with ya?" the Boston girl continued.

"Is she buying?"

Faith laughed. "Yeah. Sure," the Boston woman agreed. "She's got an open tab."

"Free alcohol," Buffy smiled. "I'm in."

"What if she wanted to do _body _shots?" the younger slayer countered. Her voice dropped slightly in a conspiratorial tone. "You know…suck her drink outta your belly button, and lick salt off your neck, and stuff like that?"

Faith's unexpected words made the blonde falter. Plus the sound of her raspy voice was downright criminal sometimes. She could make a Dr. Seuss book sound sexual with little effort. "I…yeah…whatever, I could handle it," Buffy said with minimal confidence.

"What if that girl was me?" the Boston girl pressed dangerously.

A sudden image of Faith grabbing onto her hips and slowly dragging her tongue along her neck flashed in Buffy's brain. "I-I'm," she stuttered, "I'd still be fine."

"Whatever, Blondie," Faith laughed lightly. "I bet you'd be all worked up."

Buffy scoffed. "Whatever," she stated stubbornly. "I could handle whatever you throw at me."

Faith made a clucking noise. "Sounds like a challenge. And you know how I love those."

"You might think you know me, Faith," Buffy shot back defiantly, "but I'm not the same girl you knew in Sunnydale."

"Oh yeah?" the Boston girl replied. "So how'd ya feel if we moved the drinking game down lower?" she questioned. "Still think you could handle that, B?"

Buffy felt surprisingly warm and kicked the blanket off her legs. "Lower?" she squeaked. "Like the basement?"

Faith's voice dropped slightly. "Don't play dumb, Princess. You know _exactly_ what I mean." Her voice became impossibly husky. "I bet you wanna know what my tongue feels like."

The blonde couldn't form intelligible words. "Guh."

There was a slight rustling noise over the phone line as if Faith was moving around and the phone was getting jostled. "Sorry if I crossed a line, B. All this chattin' got me a little worked up," she admitted, her voice still dripping with pheromones. "Plus your song choice was wicked sexy."

Buffy cleared her throat. "Ah, uhm, what are you doing right now?" she asked when she continued to hear unidentified noises in the background.

"I don't think you really want to know," Faith said, her voice slightly pained.

"S-sure I do," the elder slayer pressed on.

The Boston girl hesitated. "Well, I, ah, I popped the top button of my jeans open and slipped my hand down the front of my pants," she revealed. "Not really doin' anything down there though…not…not yet at least."

Buffy swallowed hard. It now felt _impossibly _warm in her house. Maybe the thermostat was broken.

"Maybe…maybe you should join me," the brunette girl proposed nervously. "We could, ah, help each other out."

Buffy opened her mouth, but hesitated in her reply when she heard clicking noises over the telephone line. She pulled the cordless away from her ear and grimaced when she recognized the number on her caller ID. Preston was calling on the other line.

She contemplated letting his call go to voicemail – he'd been the ass, not her after all – but she decided against it. He was no doubt calling to apologize, and if there was one thing Buffy loved, it was groveling.

"I-I have to go, Faith," Buffy said in a breathless tone.

"Why?" the dark-haired girl countered.

"I just…I just do," the elder slayer replied helplessly.

Faith gave a disgruntled noise. "Okay," she conceded. "Talk to you soon though?" Her voice lilted hopefully at the end of her question.

Buffy felt the corners of her mouth curl up. "Count on it."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Always Be Prepared**

"Another city, another Big Bad." Faith slung the oversized battleaxe over her shoulder and grinned.

Buffy wiped her hands on her jeans and blew the hair out of her face that had escaped her ponytail. "When will these demons and monsters learn they'll never win?" she quipped.

"You gotta hand it to Evil, though," the Boston girl chuckled as she swaggered down the deserted road. "It's persistent."

Buffy wrinkled her nose as she tried to keep up with the taller girl's longer gait. "And always ruins my clothes."

The dark-haired slayer stopped walking and laughed. "Aw, c'mon Twinkie. It's not that bad." She reached out and rubbed away a small smudge of dirt from the blonde's cheek. Her fingers lingered on the blonde's skin for just a second longer than they needed to, and Buffy felt an odd stirring in the pit of her stomach.

The Coven had received word that a new evil was spawning near the Cleveland Hellmouth in the city of Cincinnati. The metropolitan area was close enough that energy could be drawn from the Midwestern hell-portal, much as Los Angeles had fed off of Sunnydale, but the area was far enough from Slayer-central to give a false sense of security to those demons that looked to stir up trouble in Ohio.

When Giles had issued Buffy with the request to personally take care of the Cincinnati evil, he'd also insisted that Faith's services be called upon as well. The East Coast had been relatively quiet, and he knew the Boston girl's help would be an asset. Needless to say, Evil didn't stand a chance against the Original Two.

C'mon, B," Faith urged, pushing her chaotic waves away from her face. "Let's drop off our stuff back at the rooms, and have a little fun. I hear there's a joint around here that makes a wicked sangria. It's the best of both worlds," she reasoned. "I can get a beer and you can have your girlie drink."

Since the Council had no connections in the city, the two slayers were staying at a hotel near the airport.

"I don't…" Buffy started, still surprised by Faith's unexpected touch.

"Don't what?" the Boston native interrupted with an easy grin. "Don't tell me you're not _starving _after that slay." Faith rubbed her hands together. "I'm seriously ready to devour a tableful of tapas."

Buffy swallowed. Her stomach _was _about ready to eat itself, she had to admit. The blonde slayer was hungry…and other things. All she really wanted to do was go back to her hotel room and take a cold shower, however. She cleared her throat, realizing Faith was staring expectantly at her, waiting on her response.

Finally, despite her better judgment, Buffy nodded.

"Alright," she conceded. "Let's go."

"So it's Friday night," Faith said after swallowing a mouthful of Spanish food.

Buffy looked up from her goblet drink. "And your point is?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Faith shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "Just sayin'," she noted, "you're missing out on Date Night."

The Californian made a face at the other girl's words. "Don't remind me," she groaned. "I had a hard enough time slipping away for this trip without it being a Friday. Why does Evil always ruin my weekend plans?"

The golden-haired slayer reached for her glass and drank in a rush, relishing the slight burning at the back of her throat. Upon setting her cup back down, Buffy glanced at the half-filled pitcher of sangria left of the table. She knew she shouldn't drink too much – experience told her that her tolerance for alcohol wasn't that high – but she hadn't had a night out like this in a while. Plus, the sangria was awfully tasty.

"Are you drunk yet?" Faith asked, her eyes filled with amusement.

Buffy snapped her gaze back across the table where her eyes settled on the beautiful face of her slaying partner. "No!" she admonished. "And I'm not planning on getting drunk tonight, either."

Faith snorted. "You and your plans. " Her hands opened on the table. "Getting drunk's not exactly the kinda thing you _plan, _B. It just kinda happens."

"Well, speaking of plans," Buffy noted, choosing to ignore the younger girl, "have you made any plans for Christmas yet?"

Faith's eyes shifted in her head. "I, uh."

The blonde leaned into the table. "Because the offer still stands, you know. You could come visit in Cleveland."

The Boston girl ran her fingers through her loose hair. "I'll let you know," she grunted. "I may have somethin' else to do then."

"What do you have against Christmas?" Buffy lightly questioned.

Faith leaned back in her chair, precariously balancing on the back two legs. "Nothing," she stated flatly. "I mean, unless you count how my mom was a junkie and sold the Christmas presents we'd get from Social Services for her next fix."

The Chosen One frowned deeply. "I'm sorry, Fai," she apologized. "I guess I wasn't thinking. I somehow always forget that you don't automatically associate holiday-type stuff with happy memories."

The Boston girl responded with a patented shrug and returned her chair legs to the ground. "Don't worry about it, cutie," she breezed. "It's not your fault you were blessed with a kick ass family."

Buffy resisted the urge to point out that her life hadn't exactly been a walk in the park. But this wasn't supposed to be a 'whose childhood sucked more' contest, she reminded herself. It just felt so natural, however, to always be in an unstated competition with the younger slayer. Her parents had had an ugly divorce, after all. And her memories of her childhood with Dawn might have been implanted by monks, but they weren't all positive, either. Plus, her mom…

The blonde blinked hard. She didn't – couldn't – think about that, even now, without feeling like the ground beneath her had been suddenly ripped away. She doubted she'd ever truly get used to the idea that her mom had been taken away too soon.

Faith looked down at her own awkward hands. She silently cursed. Why couldn't anything between she and Buffy be easy? The blonde girl had simply asked her to spend the winter holiday with her, and she'd twisted the innocent invitation into a bitter reminder of just how different their pasts had been.

"So, uh," Faith started, acutely aware of how much fruity wine her sister-Slayer was pouring down her throat. "Isn't this supposed to be like, one of your happy places?"

Buffy raised an eyebrow questioningly.

The Boston woman cleared her throat. "You know," she tried to clarify, "with the music and dancing? Don't tell me you forgot about that phone call already?"

Buffy's delicate features scrunched together momentarily as she tried to recall what Faith was referring to. After a short silence, her face suddenly registered her recognition.

"O-oh," she exclaimed, nearly spitting out a mouthful of sangria. "_That _happy place." She averted her eyes. "I, uh, yeah, I remember that phone call."

Feeling brave, Faith leaned in closer to the seated slayer. "Too bad you had to run off. We could have had a good time," her voice dropped low, "just the two of us."

"I-I-I," Buffy could no longer form a complete sentence as she lost herself in Faith's smoldering gaze. She squeezed her thighs together, under the cover of their table for two. The Boston girl's telephone taunt echoed in her ears. "_I bet you want to know what my tongue feels like._"

Faith laughed easily and leaned back again, breaking the spell Buffy had been under. "You never did tell me what was so important that you had to run off."

Buffy sipped at her drink calmly, but she could hear her heart pounding inside her head. "I don't remember," she lied.

Faith's glance shifted, grazing over Buffy's head, and she scanned the restaurant. With the late hour, she and Buffy were two of the only people still seated in the dining area. Everyone else had moved on to the dance floor section of the Latin American-inspired business.

The Boston girl stood up from the table and held out her hand to the blonde. "How about we take this party someplace else?" she asked with a dimpled grin.

Buffy seemed to sink further into her chair. "Uh, wh-where exactly are we going?"

Faith nodded her head in the direction of the other dancing couples. "The dance floor, Princess." She smirked. "What did you think I meant?"

_Suggested Listening: Rihanna – "Te Amo"_

The music was loud, but not so loud that Buffy couldn't hear the scattered conversations from dancing couples that surrounded she and Faith on the dance floor. The two slayers danced separately, enjoying each other's company, but also danced with other men that approached the duo. At one point Buffy found herself getting twirled around on the dance floor by Faith to some Spanish-guitar inspired song. The blonde laughed as the Boston woman twisted her effortlessly. She couldn't remember the last time she had had this much fun.

When the dance beats slowed down for a less up-tempo song, Buffy was surprised when Faith grabbed one of her arms and spun her close. Breathless, and sweaty from dancing, the blonde did little to completely pull away from the assertive Boston slayer. But having some sense of modesty, she tried to put a little space between their pelvic bones at least.

"Relax, B," Faith breathed into Buffy's ear when she felt the other slayer start to pull away. She subtly tightened her hold on the smaller girl, grasping the blonde's wrist harder. Buffy could feel the hand in the small of her back become more rigid as well. "No one knows us here," Faith reasoned in a low tone. "No one's gonna care about two chicks dancing together."

Reassured by the confident tone in the Boston woman's voice and loosened by the sangria flooding her bloodstream, Buffy relaxed. The two slayers moved as one in time to the slow, sultry beats. It had always been like this with them. What was a natural symbiosis fighting Evil, translated on the dance floor as well. Although the women were very different in their fighting and dancing styles, their unique techniques played off of each other.

The blonde was acutely aware of Faith's warm breath bursting against her bare neck as they swayed back and forth, and the affect it was having on her slightly buzzed figure. The Boston woman moved her face slightly so her lips now barely brushed against the blonde's neck.

Buffy pulled back suddenly, no longer dancing. "I don't…I'm not…"

Faith stopped dancing as well and stared intently at her smaller partner. "You're not what, B?"

The blonde girl shook her head and dropped her gaze to the scuffed dance floor. "This isn't who I am."

Faith's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. "I don't follow."

Buffy raised her arms. _ "This," _she sighed. "Dancing with you to sexy songs, sneaking away to talk to you online or on the phone or in person."

The Boston girl looked mildly uncomfortable. "I didn't realize you were _sneaking around_ to talk to me." She cleared her throat. "You make me sound like a dirty secret or somethin'."

The Chosen One frowned deeply. "You know it's more complicated than that."

Faith gave a disgruntled sound that Buffy could hear even over the restaurant's music system. "It doesn't _have _to be complicated though, B," she insisted. "Why can't we just enjoy each other's company?" She gave her sister-Slayer an easy smile.

Buffy pursed her lips. "Because if we keep heading down this road..." she hesitated on her next words, "we'll be doing more than enjoying each other's 'company.'"

The Boston girl couldn't help but smirk. "And what's the bad news?"

Buffy shook her head. "I have a boyfriend, Faith."

Faith ran her fingers through her hair. "I thought this is what you wanted…I thought this is where all our flirting was heading," she said gruffly and honestly. "Don't tell me you're afraid?"

The Californian gave the taller girl a stubborn look. "I'm not afraid of anything. I'm just not going to cheat on Preston." She bit her tongue and didn't add the words that she knew would be too cruel, too hurtful: _"I'm not going to cheat on him _**with you**."

Faith licked her full lips and opened her mouth to protest, but not before Buffy interrupted her. "I'm sorry," the blonde said once more before turning and walking briskly off the dance floor.

Faith could only watch in disbelief as her slaying partner picked up her clutch bag from their small table and exited out the front door of the club.

Buffy stared at the spackled white ceiling of her hotel room. She breathed in deeply, but then wrinkled her nose. Even though her room was supposedly 'non-smoking,' she could still detect the faint scent of cigarette smoke stuck in the carpeting and gaudy striped wallpaper.

After hastily leaving Faith at the Spanish tapas bar, the blonde had returned to their hotel and promptly packed her suitcase. Her bus back to Cleveland wasn't scheduled to leave until later the next day, however, so all she could do was wait and hopefully avoid Faith until then. She could have purchased an earlier ticket back, but she doubted Giles would have been pleased with the extra expense; the Council was already paying for two rooms for two slayers.

She had heard Faith come back a few hours after she returned to the hotel. The two didn't share a room, but since their rooms were next to each other, they shared a wall. It was hard to not notice the slamming adjacent door and the distinct sound of heavy boots being thrown at a wall.

The blonde closed her eyes and tried clearing her mind by counting vampires jumping over a pointed fence.

Buffy made a disgruntled noise and pulled herself out of bed. Her brain wasn't going to let her sleep apparently until she talked things out with Faith. The blonde changed out of her pajamas and pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It wasn't that she wanted to dress up for the dark-haired girl; she just didn't want to confront her wearing fuzzy bunny pajamas. Her grand speeches seemed to lose their luster when her body was covered with tiny farm animals or food items.

Making sure to tuck her keycard into the back pocket of her jeans, the California slayer exited her room and knocked on the door to Faith's. Buffy could hear the sound of bare feet padding on thick carpeting as she waited. The door swung wide open and the small blonde was greeted with the sight of her sister-Slayer, her hair wild and her eyes looking bloodshot.

Buffy stared past the taller slayer and noticed the empty mini-bar bottles that littered the countertops of her hotel room. "You know you're gonna have to pay for that," she pointed out disapprovingly. She didn't bother with paltry greetings. "I don't think the Council's gonna reimburse you for mini-bar alcohol."

Faith shrugged and turned to gaze at the collection of miniature booze bottles she had amassed over a short period of time. "S'ok," she muttered without emotion. "I got money."

Buffy continued to stand in the hotel hallway and the Boston girl continued to stand in the doorway. "What?" Faith demanded when it was clear the small blonde wasn't going to say anything more. "What you doin'? Trying to kill my buzz?"

"No," the blonde snapped indignantly. "I just thought we should talk."

Faith snorted. "I'm pretty sure we've talked enough for one lifetime, B," she noted.

Buffy pushed past the dark slayer, forcing entry into the hotel room.

"Hey!" the Boston girl exclaimed. "This is my room. You've got yer own," she complained loudly.

The blonde marched into the room and sat on the corner of one of the double beds. She stared stubbornly at the brunette who, with a disgruntled look, closed the hotel room door.

Faith stood before the blonde slayer and crossed her arms across her chest. "So?" she stated, the annoyance palpable in her tone. "Talk."

Buffy sighed and rubbed at her face. She normally planned her speeches. She hadn't really planned for this, however. And if there was something Buffy was good at was planning out each and every movement and gesture.

"I'm sorry I left you at the restaurant like that," the Californian began.

Faith shrugged and walked toward the miniature refrigerator. She fished out a tiny bottle of vodka. "No big deal," she scoffed. "S'not something new. Not like I'm not used to it by now." She cracked the tiny seal on the bottle top and slugged its contents down with one large swallow.

Buffy ignored the instinctive urge to snap off a bitter retort. She didn't come over to fight with Faith, she reminded herself. She just didn't know why she _had _come over, however.

"Sure you should be mixing alcohol like that?" Buffy asked, gesturing to the empty bottles of whiskey, rum, and now vodka.

Faith sneered. "It's like Mom's milk to me." She patted at her stomach. "Plus I've got an iron-lined stomach," she boasted. "I can eat or drink anything without it affecting me."

Buffy couldn't help but stare at the wiry girl's abdomen. Faith had changed out of her slaying clothes from the club and now wore only a short pair of cotton boxers and a worn wife beater. Her bra-less breasts seemed to defy gravity and the slight swimmer's V of her chiseled stomach peaked above the elastic waistband of her shorts.

When the Californian finally realized she was staring, she tore her eyes away from Faith's flat stomach and up to her eyes. Expecting the brunette to have caught her lingering gaze, she was surprised that instead, Faith's face looked unnaturally pale. Buffy's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Faith?" she questioned. "Are you alright?"

The Boston slayer's mouth opened and closed quickly. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth and she quickly turned and fled toward the bathroom. Not bothering to turn on the bathroom light or shut the door behind her, she lurched her head into the toilet bowl.

Buffy quickly followed behind and hovered in the doorway of the small bathroom. There was barely enough room for the shower, toilet, and Faith's sprawled body.

"Faith?" she repeated, her voice more concerned this time.

The dark-haired girl groaned into the toilet bowl and it made an echo-y sound. Her shoulder blades flexed, and she pulled her head out of the toilet. "Go away. Please," the brunette pleaded, turning her head to look at her sister-Slayer.

Faith's face had regained some of its normal coloring, but her eyes were watery and her mascara was smeared down her cheeks.

Buffy ignored the brunette's request and instead retrieved a washcloth on the vanity countertop. She ran cold water over the cloth, just enough to dampen the small towel. She wordlessly crouched down, balancing her weight on the balls of her feet and reached out to sweep Faith's long hair away from the back of her neck. Faith's body initially tensed, but she relaxed when the blonde pressed the cool towel against the back of her neck, beneath her hairline.

The Boston woman groaned and her body shuddered as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the hotel toilet. Buffy deftly swept the girl's chaotic waves away from her face and held them at the nape of her neck. The blonde girl rubbed small circles at the base of Faith's spine.

When she finished purging, Faith wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand and grimaced. "Thanks," she said curtly. "Can I…can I have a second to clean up?"

Buffy bounced to her feet. "Oh…yeah…of-of course," she stammered, quickly leaving the small room.

Faith silently closed the bathroom door without looking up at the elder slayer. Buffy stood dumbly in the small foyer space between the bedroom and the bathroom where she could hear the sink faucet turn on. After a few moments, the Boston girl exited the bathroom with her toothbrush in her mouth.

"Feel better?" Buffy asked, giving her slaying partner a small smile.

The Boston girl seemed to flush with embarrassment. "Yeah, uh. Sorry you had to see that," she apologized. "I-I don't know what happened. I must be gettin' too old to be drinking all that shit."

The Chosen One gave her sister-Slayer a knowing smile. "Yeah, we _are _getting old, aren't we?"

Faith smiled broadly. "Yeah, but we still look damn good, girlfriend," she winked.

The two stood in the narrow foyer in silence. Finally, Faith broke the quiet: "So, uh, did you…did you still want to talk?"

Buffy made a face. "Now I'm not sure what I wanted to say."

The Boston girl gave the elder slayer a lopsided grin. "I know something else your mouth could be doing."

The elder slayer took one look at the girl standing in front of her and burst into laughter.

Faith stuck out her full, bottom lip at the blonde's response. "Hey!" she protested. "Not exactly the reaction I was lookin' for. You're not supposed to _laugh_."

Buffy stifled her giggles. "I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes. "It's just…it's hard to be sexy when there's barf on your tank top."

The Bostonian looked down at her torso in horror. "Oh, hell no," she muttered. Her hands went to the bottom hem of her top, and she deftly removed her white wife beater, not seeming to care or remember that she wasn't wearing a bra. The dark-haired girl stood proudly in front of the elder slayer, wearing only her thin cotton boxers and a grin. "There, better?" she asked cheekily.

Buffy blinked a few times. "Uh…" The blonde swallowed hard and licked her lips.

She had certainly seen other naked girls before, but she'd never seen _Faith_ like this before. Even when she had inhabited her body when Faith had performed the body-switch, Buffy hadn't really had time to really appreciate the Boston girl's staggering body. She had been too busy freaking out and trying not to get sent back to England, after all.

Faith couldn't help but smirk at the blonde's reaction. She took a dangerous step forward, narrowing the distance between the two slayers. "See anything you like, B?" she asked in a thick burr.

Buffy shut her eyes tightly as though wishing she could will the situation away just by closing her eyes. She opened her eyes when she felt the carpet shifting beneath her feet as the Boston girl continued to come closer.

Faith pressed her bare chest against the blonde's smaller breasts. Buffy sucked in a sharp breath. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"I thought it was obvious by now."

"But I-I've never….I mean, I don't know how to…" the Californian trailed off helplessly.

The dark-haired girl ran her fingers along Buffy's jaw line and tipped her head slightly upwards. "It ain't rocket science, Sunshine," she murmured.

The brunette slayer gently pressed her lips against the smaller woman's mouth. Buffy yielded into the slow embrace, parting her mouth. Faith's tongue tasted minty from having just brushed her teeth.

Despite her uneasiness about kissing another girl, let alone that girl being _Faith, _Buffy's body seemed to be screaming at her for more. So when Faith took it upon herself to deepen the kiss, the blonde slayer did nothing to stop her. She could have dwelled on the fact that the Boston girl had been heaving out the contents of her stomach just moments earlier, but the way Faith's tongue was boldly exploring the inside of her mouth made details like that seem unimportant.

Encouraged by the fact that the smaller slayer had not pulled away yet, the Boston slayer slowly led the way back towards one of the double beds. When Buffy felt the back of her knees hit up against a mattress, she knew she had come to a crossroads. Either she resisted Faith's advances, or she could give in. She chose the latter.

Faith was mildly surprised when the blonde girl sat down on the bed and scooted her body more fully onto the mattress. Instead of protesting, instead of offering a million reasons why they shouldn't be doing what they were about to do, Buffy simply looked up at the topless slayer and chewed on her bottom lip. If the Bostonian wasn't already in love with the golden-haired girl, she would have fallen for her right in that moment.

The dark brunette crawled on top of the mattress and positioned her body over the reclined slayer. She hesitated. She wanted to ask permission, but she was afraid that any talking might jolt them both back to reality and this would never happen. So instead, she pressed her lips once more against Buffy's mouth.

The two slayers continued to softly embrace on top of the hotel room comforter. The way Buffy's hipbones were digging into Faith's body was driving her crazy. The Boston woman's hands went to Buffy's leather belt and she pulled up on it, making the jean denim rub deliciously against the Californian's rapidly overheating sex.

"Too many clothes," the brunette mumbled against the smaller slayer's open, wanting mouth.

Faith, dressed only in her short cotton boxers, reached for the bottom hem of Buffy's v-neck t-shirt. She sucked in a deep breath as she removed it from the blonde's torso, afraid that this would be the moment that the Californian rejected her. But instead, Buffy arched her back slightly off the bed, helping Faith strip her from the waist up.

"Damn, girlfriend," Faith breathed, unabashedly staring at the svelte slayer's small, but proportionate breasts. In her rush to change from pajamas to semi-suitable clothing, the blonde hadn't bothered to put her bra back on from earlier.

The brunette felt entranced. Her hands unhesitatingly went to the smaller slayer's waist and she unfastened the top button of Buffy's jeans and pulled the front zipper down. Once again, the blonde woman aided the younger slayer in her task, lifting her hips and backside off the mattress as the Bostonian pulled her jeans down her legs and removed them entirely. Faith had only to pull down her own shorts and she and Buffy would be naked. Together.

"Wait," Buffy said, the first words she'd spoken since the two had kissed. Faith's hands faltered at her own waistband. Her breath caught in her throat. _This was the moment,_ she realized, _where Buffy would run away._

The blonde sat up in bed. "C-Can I do it?" she asked in a wavering voice.

The Boston woman stood dumbstruck for a few seconds, but then her hands fell away from her shorts, and she nodded wordlessly.

Faith shivered when the golden-haired girl first laid her hands on her naked waistline. Buffy hooked her fingers beneath the elastic and carefully pulled the remainder of the brunette slayer's clothes off of her body.

The Californian gave her sister-Slayer a half-smile and scooted back on the bed until her head hit the fluffy down pillows. Although she was completely naked, Buffy felt powerful. And from the look on the brunette's face, she knew Faith approved. Buffy had always been proud of her body. Slaying and training obviously kept her in top shape; partnered with a high metabolism and strict diet, she looked better than she had even in college. It wasn't vanity or pride, however – she was just a girl who felt compelled by the women on the cover of fashion magazines, just like other girls.

Faith ran her uncalloused fingers along the Californian's lotion-smooth skin, and slowly stroked along her sister-Slayer's lithe figure. She took her time, mesmerized by the fact that this was Buffy – Buffy Summers – mewling beneath her touch. Buffy's body felt soft, yet firm, her overheating skin burning the tips of the Boston slayer's fingers.

"Your hands," Buffy gasped, arching into the brunette's careful touch. "God, that feels good."

Faith dipped her head to capture a supple breast with her mouth. The brunette took a spongy nipple between her teeth and lightly bit down, her front teeth scraping against the sensitive flesh.

Buffy made an unrecognizable sound and her fingers tangled into Faith's chaotic hair. Faith couldn't help the growl that escaped the back of her throat when the Californian wound her digits tight in her tresses, pulling at her scalp and roots. The Bostonian released Buffy's breast and instead focused on her jutting clavicle. She licked hard along the defined collarbone and sucked the thin skin into her mouth in a way that ensured love bites.

A thin sheen of sweat lubricated the areas where the two slayers' bodies came into contact. Faith positioned her right knee between her sister-Slayer's bronzed thighs and pressed up into her naked sex. Buffy groaned and clung to the younger woman's thinly-muscled shoulders as Faith ground into her. The Californian's moaning became louder with each movement and her breath came quicker; Faith was loath to pull away, but there was something she wanted to try with the blonde.

"Hold up, B," the brunette slayer said, slightly breathless.

Buffy gave her partner a pained and confused expression, unsure why the Boston slayer was urging her to pause.

"I've got something you might enjoy," the brunette explained. Faith pulled herself out of bed, and scampered over to her canvas tote bag. She fished around for a few moments, looking for something inside while Buffy admired the nakedness of her slaying partner's body.

"Bingo," the dark slayer cheered, pulling a small, silver bullet out of her belongings.

Buffy's features scrunched together. "What's that?"

Faith pressed a hidden button. It made an audible clicking noise and the silver contraption came to life.

"Why do you have a v-vibrator in your bag?" the blonde stumbled on the word.

Faith grinned boldly. "Never leave home without it," she declared, plopping back down on the bed. "Never know if you might need it."

The Chosen One sat up straighter in bed, resting her weight on her elbows. "You're like a Boy Scout," she quipped, "always prepared."

The Boston woman smirked. "It might have slipped your keen observation skills, B, but I sure as hell _ain't _a boy." She wiggled her eyebrows. "But I'm pretty good at tying knots if you're into that kinda thing."

An image of herself naked and tied to the headboard with the dangerously sexy brunette hovering above her flashed through Buffy's mind. The blonde swallowed hard. She'd have to save that visual for some cold, lonely night in Cleveland.

The dark-haired woman positioned herself closer to Buffy. She ran the thrumming vibrator along the blonde's naked flesh, bringing goosebumps to the surface of her skin. Just as her fingers had previously explored, she now maneuvered the vibrating toy up and down Buffy's limbs. Faith used the silver gadget to trace delicate lines along the smaller slayer's taunt stomach, dipping it into her belly button. She ran it up to the Chosen One's naked breasts and circled the tip of the toy around Buffy's puffy pink nipples, causing the elder girl to suck in a quick breath.

The Boston girl slid the vibrator back down the blonde's flat abdomen. She moved it further south, dragging it slowly and deliberately along the last few inches of flesh. The brunette looked up. Buffy's eyes were riveted on the bullet-shaped vibrator.

Faith pushed forward, splitting the blonde's pussy lips. She rested the pulsating cylinder to one side of Buffy's clit. The Californian's hazel-green eyes flipped wide open. "Oh my God!" the elder slayer gasped as the first tremors shook through her nerve endings.

The brunette smirked, not unkindly. "Yup. I knew you'd like that."

Although the small toy was barely larger than a tube of lipstick, Buffy could feel the steady hum all the way up to her teeth. "Holy shit," she swore, her teeth nearly chattering.

"You can say that again," the Boston girl murmured. "And we're just getting started..."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: All I Want for Christmas Is You**

"I don't understand you," the dark-haired man fumed.

Buffy stared hard. "What's so hard to understand?"

"We made _plans_, Buffy," her boyfriend reminded her. "You _knew _this was important to me!"

"And I told you _I'm sorry_," the blonde vented. "How was I supposed to know there would be an emergency tonight?"

"Jesus Christ!" Preston threw his hands up in disgust. "An emergency on _Christmas Eve_? What kind of operation are they running at that school? You need to get your priories straight," he said in an annoyed tone. "Family should come before work."

Buffy bit her tongue. It would have been so much easier if she had told her boyfriend about being a slayer much earlier in their relationship. Now, the longer she put it off, the more the lies just kept piling up on each other.

"I had to work," she stated evenly. "They needed me." Well, at least _that _wasn't a lie.

It was Christmas Eve in Cleveland. Preston and Buffy had made plans to go to Midnight Mass with his family. Buffy wasn't overly religious, but Preston had impressed upon her that this was a family tradition. He had assumed she was devout herself – after all, didn't she always wear a silver chain and cross around her neck?

Buffy had agreed to the plan even though she knew there was always the small chance that something would pop up that needed her to kill it. She had had every intension of going out tonight with Preston and his family. She'd fixed her hair and make-up; she'd even bought a new dress for the occasion – not that she needed an excuse to go shopping.

But just as she was about to leave her house to meet up with Preston and his parents for a late dinner before church that night, the phone had rung. She could have let it go to voicemail, but she answered it instead. _Mistake #1._

It was Vi. Apparently a gang of vampires was picking off Christmas carolers and other passers-by in a residential area not far from Buffy's home. She and Rona could handle the group, but having Buffy there would help make the slaying go more quickly and efficiently. Buffy had looked at the clock and reasoned she could skip dinner and still make it to Mass. _Mistake #2._

The vamps had scattered as soon as they saw the three slayers and Buffy, Rona, and Vi had spent the rest of the night tracking them down. By the time Buffy returned home, her hair and make-up were in disarray and her voice machine was filled with angry messages from her boyfriend.

Buffy had taken the phone off the hook and changed into her pajamas. After a long night, the last thing she wanted was to hear Preston's insults on the answering machine. He'd surprised her, however, by showing up at her front door. And unfortunately for the blonde, there was no way to avoid that.

Preston stamped angrily to the door. The two had been arguing for the better part of half an hour, neither willing to budge or apologize.

"Where are you going?" the California native demanded.

The tall man yanked at the door handle and abruptly opened the door. "I'm going to my parents house to try to explain to them why the woman I'm dating doesn't want to meet them."

Buffy made a noise in her throat. "That's not fair. I had work," she reminded the man. "Plus, Dawnie is sleeping." She gestured down the hallway in the direction of the brunette teen's bedroom. "I can't just leave and go with you right now."

"She's not a child you have to babysit, Buffy," Preston grumbled, rubbing at his face in annoyance. "She's in _college_."

The slayer folded her arms across her chest stubbornly. "That doesn't mean anything. I don't care if she's in a nursing home. She's my little sister, and I'm not leaving her alone in the middle of the night."

Preston rolled his eyes. "Fine," he grumbled under his breath. "Merry fuckin' Christmas to you too, babe." The man dramatically exited the house and slammed the door behind him.

Buffy growled and grabbed for the closest thing within her reach, which turned out to be the TV remote. She hurled it angrily at the closed front door, and the device shattered into a number of smaller pieces.

Buffy stomped to the large bay window at the front of the living room and watched as Preston climbed into his SUV and pulled out of her driveway. Outside, the snow was really starting to come down. Large flakes fell from the sky and began to accumulate in a thin layer on the ground.

"I hope his car gets stuck in a ditch," she grumbled miserably to herself. Buffy angrily pulled the front curtains closed so she wouldn't have to look outside anymore.

The Chosen One turned on her heels angrily. Of all the nights for Preston and her to get in a ridiculous fight, of course it would be Christmas Eve. The half-finished bottle of merlot in the kitchen beckoned to her. With Dawn asleep, and herself too angry to do the same, her only solution was to drink until she'd calmed down enough to go to bed. Or pass out. Either option sounded just fine at this point.

Leaving the living room for the kitchen, the blonde filled a large wine glass with the remaining liquid in the wine bottle. She swallowed a large mouthful of the alcohol, hovering near the kitchen island, and followed her original slug with a smaller sip. Maybe she should pace herself.

Back in the living room, a brisk knock at the front door alerted her. Buffy left the kitchen and crossed the house quickly. Fully expecting it to be Preston on the other side of the door, Buffy didn't bother checking out the window. She yanked open the front door with a biting quip ready at the tip of her tongue.

Outside, the storm had picked up. Large snowflakes swirled in violent figures in the air. Buffy's breath caught in her throat when she recognized the silhouette standing on her front porch.

"Faith?"

The familiar rasp broke above the howling wind: "Well, it sure as hell ain't Santa Claus."

Unexpectedly, the elder slayer burst into tears.

"Fuck," the Boston girl cursed, dropping her small duffle bag to the ground. "I knew I shoulda called first."

"N-not sad tears," the blonde whimpered. "Happy tears."

"Oh, uh, really?"

Buffy nodded, and wiped at her eyes. "I'm s-sorry," she mumbled between sobs. "It's just been a long, emotional night."

"Come here," Faith gently coaxed, pulling the shaking slayer into a tender embrace. The brunette wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's shoulders and squeezed her tight.

"Y-you're freezing," Buffy mumbled into the taller woman's leather-covered shoulder.

"Don't worry 'bout me, B. I'm an East Coast girl," Faith boasted. "This storm ain't nothing I haven't seen before."

"Come inside, at least," Buffy insisted as if suddenly remembering her manners.

The Boston girl stepped into the front foyer, and the bottoms of her heavy boots crunched against something on the wooden floor. She lifted her feet and saw tiny bits of black plastic and green and red electrical wires "Woah," she stated. "Did the technology piss you off or something?"

"No," Buffy sniffled, wiping at her nose, "just Preston."

"You're –." Faith bit her tongue and shook her head.

She was about to reveal her alarm and disbelief that the blonde was still in a relationship with the unsuspecting man despite what had occurred between the two slayers just a few weeks prior. But it wasn't her place to tell the elder woman who she should be with – that was Buffy's decision. Faith just hoped she would make the right decision soon, however. The thought of her with someone else tugged at the edges of her sanity.

"Is D here?" the Boston girl asked, looking around the living room.

Buffy nodded, blinking away fresh tears. She had no idea why just the sight of the brunette at her doorstep had caused her to burst into tears. "Yeah, she got back from school a few days ago," she noted. "She's sleeping in her room down the hallway."

Faith's glance continued to flit around the generously sized living room. She'd never been to the blonde's Cleveland house before. "I've got a great idea," she announced.

Buffy raised an eyebrow at the taller slayer.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Faith chuckled, shaking her head. "Not all of my ideas have to do with sex you know."

Buffy snorted. "Coulda fooled me."

"Just trust me," the Boston girl laughed lightly. "Go get yourself s'more wine and find me a beer or something, will ya? Just no eggnog. Whoever thought of liquefied eggs and booze together was seriously smoking something."

Buffy gave the brunette a lingering look. Faith shrugged out of her leather jacket and hung it up on a hook near the front door. She shook the snowflakes out of her long waves. The wet drops clung to her thick curls, refracting the light, making her hair literally sparkle in the overhead lighting.

"Scoot," Faith ordered again, pulling off a heavy boot and a slightly damp sock. She'd taken a cab from the airport to Buffy's house, but with the snowstorm outside, she'd still managed to get a little soggy. She hopped on one foot comically while she removed her other shoe. "I ain't gonna do anything bad to your house or steal something, okay?"

Buffy made a disgruntled noise, but turned on her heels and obediently headed back into the kitchen.

Although Buffy had repeatedly invited Faith to Cleveland to spend the winter holiday with her and Dawn, she had never really expected the younger slayer to take her up on the offer. As Buffy opened a new bottle of red wine and refilled her glass, she silently mused about what was going to happen between them tonight. Moreover, what did she _want _to happen? With Dawn in the house, at least, it certainly couldn't be a loud something.

It had been a few weeks since Buffy had last seen Faith in the flesh. And there was certainly a lot of flesh on parade in Cincinnati. Buffy felt a warm flush creep onto her cheeks just at the memory of that night. Since then, the two had continued to chat religiously online or on the phone, but both had avoided dissecting what had happened between them that night and the following morning at the airport hotel. Neither was ready to discuss what exactly their intimacy meant. But that hadn't stopped their continual flirting, however.

From her location in the kitchen, the blonde heard some banging noises and muffled cursing coming from the living room. Buffy hastily grabbed a beer bottle from the refrigerator and made her way back to the front of the house. Her own wine glass was refilled and she held a Columbus microbrew in her other hand for Faith. She paused in the archway that separated the dining and living room when she discovered what Faith's 'idea' was.

"There you go showing off your Boy Scout skills again," Buffy openly admired.

The Boston girl had successfully built a fire in the stone fireplace along the south wall in the living room. The flames licked and crackled at the small stack of hardwood piled on the iron grating. Buffy had never used the fireplace in the house before; she hadn't even realized it was a _real _fireplace up until this point, in fact.

Faith chuckled and turned away from the gently popping fire. She rubbed her hands together, smearing the soot on her fingers. "Or my pyromaniac skills."

Buffy gazed at the fire. "That's nice," she said.

"Grab yourself a seat," the brunette instructed, nodding towards the couch. "I've almost got everything set up."

Buffy obediently padded over to the overstuffed couch. She set Faith's beer bottle on a coaster on the glass coffee table and curled her legs up into her body. She watched Faith turn off the overhead lights in the living room and dining room. Only the soft glow of the crackling fire and the LED lights on the Christmas tree illuminated the room.

"Very nice," Buffy murmured, looking up at the Boston girl. Her beautiful features looked warmer than ever with this dim lighting. "I'm impressed."

Faith took a seat next to the elder slayer. "I'm not without skills," she said with a laugh.

The two slayers sat together on the couch in silence, both staring into the fire. The Boston girl sat with one arm draped around Buffy's shoulder and the blonde leaned into the touch. It was a comfortable, familiar position as if cuddling together like this on Christmas Eve was the most natural thing in the world.

"So, do you wanna talk about what happened?" Faith asked, breaking the quiet.

Buffy's heart raced in her chest. She knew eventually they would have to talk about what had happened a few weeks ago, but she didn't think she was ready to face all the emotions the Boston girl had stirred up lately. The slayer took a large drink from her glass as though the alcohol would provide her with much needed courage and clarity.

"'Cause it's not everyday someone pissed you off so much you get violent," the brunette continued slowly. She gave the golden-haired slayer a small smile. "I thought only _I _made you that mad."

Buffy blinked once. Faith didn't want to talk about Cincinnati – she wanted to know what had happened between she and _Preston. _The blonde audibly sighed, and she released the tension she had unknowingly been holding in her shoulders. Her body slumped slightly forward.

"I screwed up," she admitted. "I was supposed to spend the evening with Preston and his family, but I went slaying instead."

Faith sat up with interest. "Anything I should know about? Did some Chaos demon start makin' the Christmas decorations come alive or something?"

Buffy shook her head and sipped from her glass. "No, nothing exciting like that," she noted. "Just your every day vampires eating the Christmas carolers."

"Were they at least singin' off-key?" the brunette joked.

Buffy giggled and gently nudged the younger girl in the ribs. "You're horrible," she protested.

"Hey, I'm not the one killing innocent remote controls," Faith pointed out cheekily.

The Californian wrinkled her nose. "I just got mad at him. At me. At the whole situation."

The younger slayer nodded somberly. She didn't quite know what else to say. With all of the talking they'd been doing the past few months, Buffy had never really opened up about her relationship with the Cleveland boy. Now that she was, however, Faith didn't know how to respond. What was her role in all of this? Friend? Confidante? Mistress?

The fire crackled noisily and an ember popped out of the fire, onto the stone hearth. Faith hopped up from her seat and quickly ushered the burning coal back into the flames before it did any damage.

Buffy cocked her head to one side. "Are you _sure_ you're not trying to seduce me with your niceness and this sexy lighting?"

Faith wiggled her eyebrows and returned to her seat next to the blonde. "I dunno. Is it working?"

"I'll get back to you on that one," Buffy smirked.

Faith took a long pull from her beer bottle. "Naw, B. You took good care of me when I was drunk," she observed. "It's only fair I do the same for you."

Buffy wiped at her leaking nose with the back of her sleeve. "Hey. I'm not drunk," she stated feebly. "This is still my first glass of wine."

The Boston girl chuckled and kissed the blonde's temple affectionately. "I know," she murmured into her hair. "Buffy Summers never gets drunk."

Buffy's heart quickened with the simple, but affectionate action. She expected Faith to go further, to make another move, but for now the brunette appeared content to just sit beside the Chosen One.

"You know…" Buffy started slowly, "you're not at all what I expected," she whispered into the fire.

"You should let me surprise you more often," the brunette responded.

Feeling bold, feeling as though she should for once take the initiative, Buffy grabbed the Boston girl's hand and entwined their fingers. The two women looked together at their enjoined hands. Buffy marveled at how well they _fit _together.

She had always assumed that only the larger hand of a man and the more petite fingers of a woman could connect so well. Her own hands had often felt smothered by the lumbering hold of bulkier men like Angel, Riley, or Preston. But now, with her fingers nestled among the slender, feminine fingers of her sister-Slayer, that suffocation was replaced by a feeling of ease.

Faith flashed the blonde a dimpled grin and gently squeezed the other girl's hand. Feeling the younger slayer's warm skin against her own brought back flashed of their time spent together in Cincinnati. Buffy hadn't been surprised by the command and prowess of the brunette slayer that night; what had surprised her, however, was her own eagerness to touch, kiss, and taste the other girl. Buffy had never believed she held any same-sex tendencies, but something about being with Faith made the gender of her partner unimportant. They were connected – they'd always been two parts of a whole.

Buffy opened her mouth, but choked on her words. She stopped to clear her throat and try again. "This is nice," she said aloud.

The corners of Faith's mouth curved towards the sky. "Mmhm," she agreed.

The brunette's behavior had surprised Buffy from the moment she had showed up at her front door. Gone was the brash, over the top, wild youth of their Sunnydale past. Not once, Buffy realized, had Faith made an overly sexual move on her that night. She'd been sweet. She'd been thoughtful and nurturing, but she'd hardly been flirtatious.

The thought caused Buffy to mentally bristle. Maybe now that they'd had sex, the brunette slayer was no longer interested in her like that. Maybe Buffy had just been another notch on Faith's bedpost. Or worse, the Chosen One worried, maybe she'd been _so horrible_ in bed, Faith didn't want to do it again!

There was only one way to find out.

Buffy stuck out her tongue slightly and wet her lips. She hoped she hadn't had so much wine that her teeth were tinted purple. Faith continued to stare into the fire, unaware of the girl slowly creeping closer.

"Fai," the blonde murmured quietly.

"Yeah?" Faith turned her face slightly and was startled to find the golden-haired girl's face was so close to her own. Before she had time to comment on the smaller slayer's proximity, the brunette was startled by the sensation of Buffy's soft mouth pressing against her own.

Faith pulled back after a brief moment. "What was that for, B?" Her dark eyes were wide with surprise.

Buffy sat back slightly and chewed on the inside of her bottom lip. "Didn't you like it?"

"Well of course I _liked _it," the Boston slayer said quickly. "In fact, the word, 'duh' comes to mind."

Buffy's eyebrows furrowed together. "Then how come you…you haven't tried anything with me tonight?"

Faith laughed lightly. Her broad smile warmed her beautiful features. "Well, it _is _Christmas Eve, B," she pointed out. "I'm just trying to stay good long enough that Santa will bring me some schwag in the morning."

The golden-haired woman stuck out her bottom lip. "Oh."

"Why?" Faith readjusted her position on the couch so she was more fully facing the blonde slayer. Her voice dropped impossibly low and her dark eyes seemed to twinkle in the dim lighting. "Do you _want _me to be bad?"

Buffy made an uncomfortable noise. _Did _she?

"I, uh, I don't know," she admitted. As much as she wanted to be physically intimate with her beautiful colleague, Buffy knew it would be wrong to cheat on Preston. Again. Even just _sitting_ with the Boston girl felt a little like cheating.

Faith's features radiated relief. "Good," she laughed. "Cause as much as I'd love to get down and dirty with ya, cutie, I'm wicked tired right now." She winked playfully. "Wouldn't wanna disappoint ya, you know."

The two women grinned at each other and fell back into a comfortable silence.

The warmth radiating from the fire, coupled with the howling wind outside slowly lulled the Californian into a state of calm. It had been a long, emotional holiday between slaying, Preston, and Faith's unexpected visit. Buffy's eyes became heavier and heavier until she could no longer hold them open.

As much as she wanted to stay awake and enjoy her time with Faith, the elder slayer felt overcome with exhaustion. With the flames in the fireplace beginning to flicker away, so too did Buffy. The blonde fell asleep on the couch, still holding hands with her former enemy.

A slight rustling beside her woke up the Californian a few hours later.

Buffy sat up groggily and wiped at her mouth, thankful to find she hadn't drooled in her sleep. The former raging fire was now just grey, smoldering coals. The room smelled like a mixture of Christmas tree and campfire smoke. Outside, it was still dark.

Faith sighed audibly. "I should get going…"

Buffy pulled away from the Boston girl. Her loose hair was slightly disheveled on one side from where she'd been sleeping against the younger slayer. "What?" she questioned. "You're leaving? Already?"

Faith gave the smaller slayer a sheepish look. "Yeah. I, uh, actually was on some slayer business. I was able to get a long lay-over between connecting flights so I could pop by for a few hours."

Buffy's face fell slightly. "Oh." She paused. "Are you _sure_ you won't stay just for a little while longer? I know Dawnie would love to see you."

Faith smiled wistfully. She reached out and smoothed down a few of Buffy's errant golden locks. "You know I'd stay if I could, B. But Duty calls."

The blonde remained silent and only nodded her understanding.

They two women stood up from the couch and slowly walked toward the front foyer. Silently, the dark-haired slayer pulled on her leather jacket and gathered her small duffel bag.

"Oh, by the way…I got you something." Faith pulled out a small, carefully wrapped package from the inner pocket of her leather jacket and handed it to Buffy. "It's not a big deal," she shrugged, "but don't open it until I'm gone, okay? I get embarrassed easily."

The elder slayer looked down at the gift in her hands. "But I didn't get you anything…if I had known you were going to stop by…"

"Don't worry about it, Princess," the raven-haired beauty winked. "Just seeing your smile was present enough."

Buffy laughed. "Wow. If _that_ wasn't ever a line."

Faith smiled cheekily, but didn't respond.

"You should…visit more often," Buffy noted. "As much as I like the phone calls and online chats…this…" she motioned between their bodies, "is better."

Faith's mouth twisted into a small smile. "Then I guess we should make a habit of this, eh?"

The brunette woman leaned forward and gave the smaller slayer a gentle, almost chaste kiss on the lips. She righted herself and flashed a deeply dimpled grin. "Merry Christmas, B."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Sucker Punch**

Buffy readjusted the camera and stared into the tiny lens.

"Is that better?" she said out loud, not sure of exactly how loudly she was supposed to be talking.

"A little lower," a voice called out through her computer speakers.

The blonde slayer chewed her bottom lip as she tried to readjust the webcam. She had no idea how any of this worked; it might as well have been magic as far as Buffy was concerned. "How about now?" she asked again.

"Little lower," came the reply.

Buffy breathed out a small huff, but continued to move the camera's lens further south. "Good now?" she called.

"Perfect," the voice responded.

The Californian sat down at the desk in the Scotland guest bedroom and smiled at Faith's mischievous grin in the small window on her laptop screen. She frowned when she saw the view from her own web device, however.

Buffy was in Scotland visiting Kennedy, Willow, and Giles for the New Years holiday. But even though she was on vacation in a different country, that didn't mean wanted a vacation from talking to the Boston slayer. Because of the international phone costs, she had gotten Dawn to give her a rudimentary lesson in using the webcam feature on her laptop.

"Why is my camera aimed at my boobs?" she complained.

Faith snickered. "Can you blame me?" she joked. "You gotta hot rack, Blondie."

Buffy couldn't help but laugh herself, but she readjusted the camera so it once again was aimed at her face.

The Boston girl stuck out her full bottom lip. "Awww, B," she whined from her remote location. "That's not fair."

"If I have to look at your face, then you have to look at mine, too. It's only fair," the Chosen One quipped.

Faith's mouth curved upward. "So if I show you mine, you'll show me yours?" she challenged.

Buffy's jaw dropped. "I, uh…that's not what I…"

The dark haired girl released an easy laugh that rattled through Buffy's laptop speakers. "I know, Princess. I'm just pullin' your leg."

The blonde moved some files around on her computer desktop and her silver cuff knocked against the laptop's keyboard. When Faith had unexpectedly showed up at her front doorstep on Christmas Eve, she'd also brought along an unexpected gift. The bracelet itself was nothing out of the ordinary – a solid silver cuff that fit snugly around her wrist.

There was no design on the bracelet; it had just a smooth, polished surface. On the inside was an engraving, however. Ever since she'd received the gift, Buffy had worn the accessory everyday, even when her outfit didn't warrant any jewelry. The Californian had called to thank her sister-Slayer for the present as soon as she opened the gift, much to Faith's embarrassment. The brunette had tried to pawn it off as not being a big deal, but the cuff was just another example of how thoughtful the Boston slayer had become since her wilder, youthful days.

"So any big plans for New Years?" Buffy chatted easily. "It feels so weird talking to you when it's so late here, but only like dinner time where you are."

Faith shrugged nonchalantly. "No big plans," she admitted. "Probably will do a quick patrol on the Southside and then watch some re-runs of _Mr. Bean _on Public TV."

Buffy giggled. "_Mr. Bean_? Isn't he that English guy that doesn't talk? He just makes weird noises?"

The Boston girl grinned. "Heck yeah. That dude is cool as shit. Used to watch marathons of that show when I was little. It's kinda tradition now to watch him on New Years."

"You're not at all what I expected, Faith Lehane," Buffy said, shaking her head and smiling.

"You keep sayin' that, B." Faith leaned forward in her desk chair and peered into the webcam. She raised an eyebrow at her sister-Slayer. "What did you think I normally do on New Years Eve? Drink until my liver gives up? Pass out in strangers' beds?"

The blonde slayer made a face. "Stop it," she chastised. "I'm not trying to start a fight. But you know how you portray yourself. Am I _entirely _to blame that I always assume the worst when it comes to you?"

The Boston girl laughed and leaned back. "Okay, you got me there."

Buffy's mouth twisted. "Why _do _you always brag about stuff like that anyway?" she asked.

Faith sighed. "I've actually been thinking about that a lot lately," she revealed. "I think maybe…maybe I was just always trying to impress you."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "And you thought telling me about your alcohol-inspired sexual conquests would impress me?"

"I was young and naïve, B," the formerly rogue woman admitted with a shrug. "I didn't know how else to get on your radar. I never really had girl friends growing up, ya know? Just hung out with dudes who were into that kinda braggart stuff."

Buffy nodded knowingly. "But why would you want to be on my radar in the first place?" she asked.

Faith grinned cheekily. "Well, you _are _the Chosen One," she teased.

The blonde slayer made a face. "And you're a dork."

"What are you guys doing for New Years?" the Boston girl asked, changing what was quickly becoming an uncomfortable subject for her. She didn't like to dwell much on she and Buffy's complicated past. "Big blow-out in Scotland tonight?"

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Actually, there's a big party going on right now," she admitted. "A bunch of the girls wanted a big party to celebrate the end of their first year as slayers. I think Dawn's taking full advantage of the legal drinking age over here, too."

Faith looked mildly surprised. "Then why aren't you out there livin' it up, too?"

The Californian gave her sister-Slayer a shy smile. "Because I wanted to talk to you?"

Faith felt her heart flutter inside her chest. "You're all kindsa adorable, B," the dark-haired girl chuckled. She paused and took a deep breath. "I-I wish we could have spent New Years together. I liked being with ya on Christmas, even if it was just for a little while."

Buffy nodded. "Me too," she admitted quietly.

"You got someone to kiss at midnight?" Faith asked in an equally quiet tone.

The blonde chewed on her bottom lip, and shook her head. Preston had made the trip over with her, insisting he wouldn't be apart from her their first New Years as a couple. Plus, he said he wanted to make up for the debacle that had been Christmas Eve.

At first Buffy balked, knowing how difficult it would be to explain why her closest friends lived in a Scottish castle, let alone why an army of young women lived there as well, but her boyfriend had been adamant. Buffy had failed to mention this to the Boston girl, however.

Moreover, her boyfriend thought she was just upstairs in the guestroom getting ready for the party, not chatting with the woman she had cheated on him with. Preston didn't know just how frequently she and Faith talked, or that she'd showed up at the house on Christmas Eve, and he certainly didn't know the context and content of their conversations.

The Californian knew she was being unfair to both her boyfriend as well as the Bostonian. But until she was faced with a situation that forced her to pick one over the other, she wasn't ready to make that choice. She certainly had feelings for her boyfriend, but she couldn't deny how the dark-haired girl made her feel. But Faith had never once mentioned she wanted a relationship with the blonde girl. For all the golden-haired slayer knew, Faith might just consider this as a fun way to spend her evenings and nothing more.

The Boston woman licked her full, generous lips. "I know it's not midnight here in Boston yet," she noted in a raspy tone, "but that doesn't mean we can't start the New Year out right."

Buffy felt her breath hitch in her throat. She coughed abruptly, clearing her airway. "Oh, really?" her voice cracked. "Wh-what do you have in mind?"

The corners of the dark-haired beauty's mouth curled up. "You. Me. Naked. Fun."

Buffy made an uncomfortable noise in the back of her throat. The way Faith said the word "naked" made her involuntarily warm. The word by itself was innocent enough, but coming out of that twisted smile, it was anything but innocent.

The Californian glanced briefly at the clock in the corner of her laptop screen. It was just after 11:30pm, British time. As long as she made it down to the party before midnight, she wouldn't be missed, right?

"H-how do you propose we…." the blonde trailed off.

Faith grinned excitedly. "Holy shit, B," she exclaimed. "I didn't think you'd actually take the bait."

"So you were just bluffing?" Buffy asked, wildly embarrassed. She averted her eyes from the computer screen, unable to look at the brunette's taunting face.

Faith whistled lowly. "Hell no. Let's have some fun," she whooped.

When Buffy returned her gaze to the computer screen, she nearly choked on her tongue. In just that short time she had kept her eyes turned away, the Boston girl had removed her top. She sat in front of the webcam wearing only a flimsy, lacy bra.

The dark-haired slayer gave the Chosen One a wide, dimpled grin. "As nice as you remembered?" Her hands cupped her well-proportioned breasts and she hefted them up slightly, causing her cleavage to become more pronounced.

Buffy's eyes bulged, and she unconsciously licked her lips. "They'd be a lot better if I was actually there," she said, her words surprising even herself.

Faith smirked and dropped her hands from her chest. "Your turn, Princess," she grinned lasciviously. "Show me what you got."

The blonde woman glanced fleetingly at the closed bedroom door.

"Is it locked?" the Boston slayer asked, knowing exactly what her sister-Slayer was thinking.

Buffy nodded, still looking at the closed door. "Uh-huh," she stated.

"Then what are you waitin' for, cutie?" the dangerous brunette purred.

The Chosen One took a deep breath, summoning her courage. It was just a top, she reasoned. Other women had seen her in far less – bathing suits, hanging clothes for gym class. And Faith had certainly seen her in much, much less. She grabbed the bottom hem of her sleeveless top and pulled it up her torso and off over her head.

"Lookin' good, Sunshine," the Boston woman approved, her eyes roaming to appreciate the elder slayer's defined collarbone, perky bra-encased breasts, and taut abdomen. Seeing certainly wasn't as good as actually being there to kiss and lick and bite along all that exposed flesh, but the dark-haired slayer wasn't about to complain about the current view.

Sitting in just a skirt, underwear and bra, Buffy suddenly became nervous. Just how far was she going to let Faith take this? How far did _she _want to take this? The unstated answer frightened her sensibilities.

Faith's pouty lips pursed together. "You sure you're ready for this?" she asked.

"I'm not exactly sure what it is we're doing," the California slayer stated.

"We're just having fun together," Faith said with a sly wink. "Let me know if it gets to be too much for you, okay?"

Buffy didn't think the Boston girl was taunting her about her inexperience, so she didn't let herself be offended by the comment. It's not like she imagined that the younger slayer was more experienced at…at whatever they were about to do, either.

Buffy watched as Faith moved around slightly, her body becoming blurred and pixilated as the webcam tried to keep up with the motion of her body.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Buffy asked.

The picture of Faith's body came into focus again with no visible changes from before. It still appeared as though she sat with her bra and other clothes on. A wide grin broke out on the Boston slayer's face. "Had to take off my pants," she announced. "Don't want my leathers gettin' ruined."

"Ruined?" the blonde squeaked. "H-how would that happen?"

The brunette smirked into the camera. "You're so cute when you're trying to play innocent."

"I _am _innocent!" the Californian insisted.

"Says the girl who boinks the undead in her spare time," the formerly rogue slayer quipped, not unkindly.

"Hey," Buffy protested. "Those were productive relationships for me. Well," she countered, "at least Angel was."

"No offense, cutie," the brunette interjected, "but talkin' about your exes isn't how I imagined this goin' down."

"Then what _did _you imagine?" Buffy replied, afraid of the response. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Oh, my mind is a cavern full of all kindsa naughty thoughts with you playing the Lead Role," the brunette practically growled.

"What happened to you being good for Christmas?" the blonde pointed out. Buffy fanned at her face. How had it gotten so cursedly warm in the guest bedroom?

The Boston slayer smirked. "It ain't Christmas anymore, is it?" she retorted. "Plus, I figure the benefits of being naughty with you are far better than anything Santa could get me."

"You certainly have a way with words," Buffy quipped.

Faith bit her bottom lip. "Fuck," she grunted. "That feels good."

"And even more words," came Buffy's strangled reply. "Do I even want to ask?" She clutched at the bottom of her desk chair.

The Boston girl's heavy breathing rattled the laptop speakers. "It's been a while for me," she revealed, "so this shouldn't take very long."

"Oh, God…" Buffy murmured aloud, mesmerized by the subtle movements of the Boston woman's upper torso. Anyone else would just believe that the Boston girl sat innocently at her desk, but Buffy was fully aware of what was going on beyond the camera's view. "I can only imagine how wet you are."

Faith's eyes went wide and the slight movement of her right bicep stilled. "Uh, really?"

"I...I mean…uh…damn it," the blonde cursed. "That wasn't supposed to be out loud."

"'Cause you know, B...you don't exactly have to imagine," Faith reminded the technology-inept slayer. "I can arrange that for you. This isn't like when we're on the phone."

Buffy struggled to find her voice, but no words came out. She could only watch with mixed horror and fascination as Faith rearranged the webcam until the scene changed from Faith's pleasure-filled face to an unobstructed view of her naked sex.

The Californian's mouth dropped wide open. She wasn't sure how the younger slayer had positioned the webcam to achieve such an angle, but she was now afforded a view of Faith's lithe inner thighs, slightly spread apart. Her pussy was bare, minus a small, closely-cropped strip of dark pubic hair.

"So what do you think?" came Faith's voice from off-camera. "As wet as you imagined? Cause I've gotta feelin' the fun's only just beginning."

Somehow, Buffy's own skirt had ridden high up her thighs. She slouched slightly in her desk chair, her thighs parted, and her left hand slid down her smooth abdomen until it reached the top of her bikini underwear.

"What do ya think, cutie?" the dark-haired girl prodded. "Want a private show or are you up for something a little more…reciprocal?"

The blonde chewed on her bottom lip. She glanced in her web-reflection. Nothing about her appearance, minus her current topless-ness suggested her hands were doing anything inappropriate. It wouldn't hurt to just…touch a little, would it?

As Buffy continued to gaze at the erotic view on her laptop screen, her hand began to move. The tips of her fingers ventured further under her panties until she felt her coarse pubic hair. While her pussy lips were shaved bare, she always kept a small patch of hair on her mons, to avoid looking prepubescent down there.

"Hey, Buffy?" Faith's voice purred from off-screen.

"Y-yes?" the blonde sputtered.

"Hand check," the Boston girl teased.

Buffy hastily pulled her left hand out of her underwear. "Both right here!" she squeaked.

"Uh huh," came the younger slayer's knowing reply. "You're awfully quiet over there."

Buffy jumped when a sharp knock on the guest bedroom door startled her. "Buffy?" her sister's voice called. "Are you ever coming out of there? It's almost midnight," the teenager whined. "You're missing out on the party."

The Californian hastily grabbed her discarded top and pulled it over her head. "C-Coming, Dawn," the blonde slayer replied loudly, her voice an octave higher than normal. "I'll be right out."

The Boston girl chuckled at Buffy's frazzled reaction. She rearranged her webcam so her face was once again visible. "I feel like we're always getting interrupted right when it gets to the good stuff," she complained.

Buffy's face felt hot and she hoped that Faith wouldn't be able to see the embarrassment on her face via the webcam.

"I-I should probably get going," the California-born slayer sighed.

The dark-haired girl only nodded and gave a wistful smile to the elder woman.

Buffy stood up from her chair and smiled into the webcam. "Happy New Years, Faith," she murmured softly.

Faith grinned in return. "Happy New Years, B."

Faith unlocked the front door of her apartment and heard the shrill ringing of her landline. Only a handful of people had the number, but she knew exactly who was calling her without having to look at the Caller ID. She hastily locked the deadbolt behind her and tromped into the kitchen.

Faith picked up the cordless phone with one swift motion and pressed the 'Talk' button. "Nice timing, cutie," the Boston woman grinned into the phone. "I just got in from slaying, and I've got all kindsa tension I need to work out."

It was a week into the new year. The Boston girl hadn't heard from Buffy in that many days – not since their almost-adventurous web chat at least. Faith wasn't worried about their recent lack of communication, however. She knew the blonde would want to spend time with her friends and enjoy her time abroad, so she hadn't expected to hear from her until after the holiday.

The blonde had emailed her that morning though that she'd call as soon as she got back to Cleveland. She said she had something important to tell her; something she didn't want to reveal over email. The dark-haired girl was both eager and anxious to hear the Californian's voice again after their short time apart.

But instead of the Chosen One's familiar voice, the dark-haired woman heard a small, surprised cough at the other end of the line.

"Uh...is this Faith?" the voice asked.

The brunette slayer nearly dropped the phone. Whoops. Maybe she should have checked her Caller ID before purring into the receiver.

Faith cleared her throat. "Uh, yeah. This is Faith. Who's this?" she asked suspiciously, unable to immediately place the voice with a face.

"Hey," the girl replied, "it's Kennedy."

"Oh, hey brat," the dark-haired girl breezed, her wariness quickly falling away. "Sorry about that," she chuckled, raking her fingers through her hair. "Was expectin' a call from someone else."

The young slayer snickered. "Yeah, I figured as much from the way you answered your phone," she teased.

Faith laughed easily and threw her canvas bag of weapons onto the floor of her modest apartment. "So what's up, brat?" she chatted pleasantly. "Haven't heard from you in a while, yeah?"

"I know," the younger slayer confirmed, "things have been pretty busy over here."

"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Faith asked. She held the phone in the crook of her neck as she pulled her heavy boots off and tossed them across the room. "Must be mighty important to be calling from across the pond. Does Giles know you've got his credit card?" she joked.

"Just wanted to see if you were coming to the engagement party," the young slayer prodded.

"Engagement? Oh man, don't tell me you and Red are getting' hitched," the brunette woman snorted. "Better you than me, girl."

Kennedy laughed on the other line. "Very funny, Faith. I'm sure Willow's not planning on trapping me in some hegemonic hetero-normative ceremony like that. She's too much about the Girlie Sapphic Lesbo Power for something so archaic as a wedding."

"Heg-a-ma-wannic-what?" the Boston woman burst into laughter. She hopped up on the edge of the kitchen counter and her feet dangled above the floor. "You and the redhead have been spending _far _too much together, Ken," Faith teased. "You're like _merging _into the same person. Like amoebas."

"Whatevs," Kennedy scoffed. "That's besides the point. Did you get your invite?" she asked eagerly. "Are you coming to the engagement party?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the dark-haired slayer admitted.

Kennedy was silent on the other end of the telephone call for a few moments. "You didn't get an invite?" she finally asked.

"Haven't gotten any real mail in months," Faith stated as she lazily picked at her cuticles. "Just junk mail."

"I think it was just an evite. It must have just gotten lost or went to your SPAM folder," the other brunette slayer reasoned. "I'm sure she'd want you there."

The Boston woman's stomach suddenly dropped without warning. She clutched her phone tight in her grasp. _No._ _It couldn't be. _

"_Who_'s getting married, Ken?" she demanded, her words strained with emotion.

"It's Buffy," Kennedy revealed in a quiet voice. "Buffy's getting married."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Engagement Party**

_Suggested Listening: The Kooks – "Gap"_

The Boston girl stood anxiously on the front stoop of the nondescript house. She rang the doorbell again and shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her leather jacket. She could hear the sound of muffled laughter just before the front door swung wide open.

The blonde on the other side of the front entrance stared in wonder at the dark figure standing on her front porch. "Y-you…you came," she stuttered.

Faith's mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "Well it's not a party until I show up, is it, B?"

Buffy took a step backwards. "Uh, c-come in," she said hurriedly, her eyes looking everywhere but in the direction of the unexpected visitor.

The dark-haired slayer took a long stride into the house and stopped when she was just on the inside of the door. She looked around the nice-sized living room, appraising the guests and décor as Buffy shut the door behind her. The last time and only time she'd been here was when she showed up unexpectedly on Christmas Eve. And she hadn't really gotten a good look at the blonde slayer's home. She'd only gotten as far as the living room.

"Nice party, B," she murmured her approval.

"Th-thanks," Buffy stated nervously. "Can I, uh, take your coat?" The scent of Faith made her momentarily wobble in her high heels – a heady mix of tobacco, spice, and leather.

Faith continued to look around the room as she shrugged out of her jacket and handed it absentmindedly to the elder slayer, unaware of her swooning.

"So where is he?" the dark girl asked bluntly.

Buffy audibly swallowed and hung the jacket on a coat hook in the front foyer. "Who?"

The raven-haired woman turned her head slightly to gaze at the shorter slayer. "You know who I mean," she said, her eyes flashing.

The Californian's eyes momentarily filled with fear. "Faith," she said. "Please…don't."

Faith gave the blonde a forced smile. "Don't worry, Princess," she breathed. "I'm not here to cause a scene. Just wanna meet the dude, is all."

Buffy raised a skeptical eyebrow, but she nodded towards the back of the house. "He's in the kitchen, I think."

The Boston slayer left the blonde's side and began to make her way to the back half of the house, but not before her ears were assaulted with a shrill shriek.

"You came!"

A tall, gangly brunette threw herself at Faith's neck, wrapping her arms around the startled slayer. Faith gently pried the girl off of her and held her at arm's length.

"Hey, Squirt," the dark girl smiled broadly when she finally put a face to the shriek. It felt like the first genuine smile on her lips since she'd originally heard the news about Buffy's engagement.

"I thought you weren't going to make it!" the teenager squealed, hopping slightly from one foot to the other.

Faith winced at the high-pitched sound. Teenage girls could make inhuman noises, and Dawn was no exception. "Well, here I am," she stated grandly.

The tall teen grabbed onto Faith's arm and dragged her towards the kitchen. "C'mon," she urged. "Kennedy and Willow will be super excited to see you, too. They came back from Scotland just for the wedding festivities," Dawn eagerly babbled. "And I wanna show you Buffy's and my house. I can't believe you haven't come to visit us yet," she lightly complained.

"Well, you know…been busy is all," the Boston girl mumbled her excuse. She felt momentarily soured by the idea that Buffy had failed to mention her unannounced Christmas visit to her sister. But it shouldn't have surprised her, she realized. It was totally a Buffy thing to do.

Faith allowed herself to be dragged into the back kitchen, and she mentally observed the upgraded stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. The hardwood floors were scuff-free and gleamed under the recessed lighting. It seemed the Watcher's Council had spared no expense with housing the original Chosen One and her teenaged sister.

Not that her own apartment wasn't nice…it just wasn't so…suburban-looking.

Dawn and Faith found Kennedy and Willow intensely conversing in a corner of the kitchen near the double sink. Kennedy was leaning against the sink and Willow was talking animatedly with her hands.

"Look who I found!" Dawn announced cheerfully, interrupting the couple's discussion.

The Wicca and Slayer couple looked up and both broke into eager grins when they saw the Boston girl.

"You made it," Kennedy cheered. She went in for a hug, but thinking better of it, opted for playfully slugging the Boston girl in the shoulder instead. "And here I thought you were going to make me suffer through all this wedding business on my own."

Faith forced herself to smile pleasantly. "Well that would just be downright cruel."

"Hey there, stranger," the redheaded girl smiled over her oversized wine glass. "It's good to see you."

The Boston slayer nodded at Willow. "You too, Red…er…Willow. How's Scotland life been treatin' ya?"

The witch looked momentarily thoughtful. "It's a nice change after living in the States all my life," she noted. "The weather's a little disappointing compared to California, but there's just so much history there, that you can't help but love the place."

"You should totally come visit!" Kennedy chirped excitedly. "There's like a pub on every corner!"

Willow chuckled at her girlfriend. "Yes," she agreed. "Plus there's that."

"Speaking of booze, "the dark-haired slayer smirked, "I'm still waitin' for someone to get me a beer."

Kennedy's eyes went wide as though appalled that she'd been caught being a bad hostess – although it wasn't even her party. She excused herself and made her way toward the beverage table on Faith's behalf.

Willow stood awkwardly with her giant wine glass, having been abandoned by her girlfriend for beer. "So, uh," the witch began. "How are things out East?"

Faith shrugged and cast her eyes around the swelling groups of people crowded in the back kitchen, looking for a certain blonde. "Cold. Lots of demons. Both real and imagined."

The witch smiled and nodded. She cast her eyes around the room, suddenly unsure of herself in the presence of the formerly rogue slayer.

Dawn suddenly appeared again at Faith's side. "Oh! And here's Buffy's boyfriend, Preston," the teen announced, abruptly pulling the brunette slayer away from the socially awkward Wicca.

A man in his late twenties or early thirties stood in front of the Boston girl. He wore flat-front khakis and a dark, green polo shirt. His shoulders were broad, but no more than the usual Beefsticks the blonde slayer had a penchant for. His dark hair was cropped close to the sides of his head, with the bangs flipped up in the front. At least the collar of his shirt wasn't popped, but it might as well have been.

He looked like an investment banker. Or a douche bag.

The man flashed the two brunette women a perfectly white smile. "Not boyfriend," he corrected Dawn. "_Fiancé _now."

The teen rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…_fiancé_," she muttered, emphasizing the last word dramatically. "Anyway," she continued with an exasperated sigh, "this is Buffy's and my friend, Faith," she said as an introduction. "She lives in Boston so that's why she says words like 'wicked' and when she's drunk her 'A's come out funny just like in _Good Will Hunting._"

Faith felt Preston's eyes slowly roam over her figure. The beautiful slayer was used to men's eyes on her, but something about Buffy's boyfriend's gaze made her feel uncomfortable. It wasn't that he was checking her out – it was as though he were mentally judging her.

She immediately regretted wearing leather pants and her near-sheer top to the event. Everyone else at the party was so…grown-up. She felt more working class than usual in the company of this suburbanite crowd.

"So how do you and Buffy know each other?" Preston asked, taking a quick sip from his carbonated well drink.

The Boston girl opened her mouth, but was quickly interrupted by Willow's frantic voice: "They used to work together in Sunnydale," she blurted out, busting into their introductory conversation. "You know…in the counseling business."

Faith couldn't help but snort. Apparently Buffy liked this vapid dude enough to marry him, but didn't trust him enough to reveal her slayer lifestyle. She silently wondered what else Preston didn't know about his perfect Bride-to-Be.

"Yeah…we worked together in the D," the brunette agreed with a lazy nod.

Preston looked mildly interested. "So are you a high school counselor, too?" he asked. "Or do you do something different in the field?"

The Boston girl couldn't help herself. If Buffy and Preston's whole relationship was built on a lie, what harm would one more little fib do?

"Actually, I quit the business once I moved back to Boston," she admitted with a casual shrug. "The pay just wasn't that good, so I went back to what I'd done before my life in California. I'm a stripper now."

The dark-haired man nearly choked on his mixed drink. "Is that so?"

Faith deliberately ran the tip of her tongue along her full bottom lip and eyeballed the taller man. "Uh huh," she purred lasciviously. "So if you're in the need for some Bachelor Party entertainment, just look me up."

Preston made an uncomfortable noise in the back of his throat. "I, uh, haven't started to think about that part of the planning yet," he choked out, "but I'll, uh, keep that in mind."

The host quickly excused himself to go mingle with the other guests, and Faith winced when she felt a sharp elbow jab into her side.

"Stripper? Really?" came a laughing voice near her side.

Faith turned to see the mocking disbelief on Dawn's face. The brunette slayer grinned at Buffy's younger sister. "Aww, don't bust my chops, D," she announced. "I was just havin' some fun with the guy."

"He's a bit of a snore, isn't he?" Dawn said, looking after her sister's fiancé. "But I suppose it's no surprise that Buffy would go for someone so boring since all her other relationships have ended so badly."

Faith choked back any disparaging remarks and instead rubbed at her ribs. "Dang girl," she complained with a smile, "you've got some sharp elbows."

The teen girl nodded crisply. "And don't you forget it." She swung the aforementioned weapons in the air. "These things can do some serious damage," she added with a laugh.

The Boston girl stood slightly on her toes and scanned the crowd. "Where the hell did Kennedy go?" she wondered out loud. "Is she _making _the beer or something?"

The Former Key looked down into her red plastic cup. "I seem to be empty, too," she mumbled unhappily.

Faith snorted. "Don't tell me B's lettin' you drink alcohol tonight?" she asked in disbelief.

Dawn flushed slightly. "She's not, uh, exactly _letting _me drink," she noted. "She's just too busy with the party to realize it." The teenager's bottom lip popped out in a Buffy-like pout. "Don't tell, okay?"

The brunette slayer made a motion like she was locking up her lips with an imaginary key. "Our little secret, Squirt," Faith nodded. "Just don't overdo it and get sick."

When Dawn walked away to refill her red plastic cup, Faith scanned the group of people yet again. The crowd was a mix of slayers whose faces she vaguely remembered from fighting the First. Most of the partygoers were strangers to her, however. But she wasn't here to mingle and make new friends. She needed to find Buffy. It was her whole reason for coming to Cleveland, after all. She wasn't going to stand idle while Buffy married a man who didn't deserve her.

Faith finally spotted the slender blonde standing alone, picking at the food table. The brunette girl wiggled her way toward the Chosen One until she was standing directly behind her, undetected.

The Boston girl couldn't help the wide grin that spread across her face. Even from this distance, and among all the other strange smells in the house, she could distinctly detect the sweet scent of Buffy's fragrant shampoo and lotions.

Buffy bent at the waist unexpectedly for an out-of-reach cherry tomato and her backside bumped into Faith's front. The blonde exclaimed a hasty apology and quickly turned on her heels. Her words fell silent, however, when she realized who she had rubbed against.

Faith smirked at the startled expression on the smaller slayer's face. "Don't worry about it, B," she breezed. Her voice dropped low. "You know I don't mind your ass pressin' up on me."

Buffy's lips pressed together. "Why are you here?" she asked bluntly.

The Boston girl took a step backwards and feigned injury. "That hurts, Princess. After all we've been through together, don't you _want _me here for your big day?"

The elder woman's fists balled at her sides. "Don't play with me, Faith," Buffy whispered harshly. "I can't believe you came all this way just to play games."

"And I can't believe _you_," Faith hissed lowly, becoming angry herself. "After…after everything that's happened between us…and you're still going to marry that jackweed?"

"Jackweed?" the elder slayer mocked with raised eyebrows. "Are you suddenly five years old now?"

The dark-haired girl licked her full bottom lip and took a subtle step towards the small blonde. "You weren't complaining about my vocabulary the other night on the phone, B. Although I know you prefer it when I'm moaning and groaning."

Buffy felt her face flush red. She glanced around quickly to ascertain if anyone noticed the brunette woman's restrained outburst. "This isn't the place for this," she muttered in a low tone for only Faith to hear. She grabbed her sister-Slayer by the elbow.

The Boston girl allowed the shorter slayer to lead her out the back kitchen door and onto the back porch. It was a chilly Cleveland night and none of the party's guests were gathered in the fenced-in backyard.

When she was sure that they were alone and that they wouldn't be overheard, Buffy let go of the younger girl. She turned on her heels to stare at the taller slayer. "So tell me," she demanded, her hands on her hips. "What are you really doing here?"

The muscles in Faith's jaw twitched as she clenched her back teeth. "Why are you going through with this? Why are you marrying that guy?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes at her sister-Slayer. "Because he's a sure thing."

"A sure thing? What's that supposed to mean?" the dark-haired woman demanded. "Has he been a 'sure' thing every time he's fucked up your date nights and you come crawling to me for attention?"

Faith inwardly cringed at her words. She didn't want to be verbally attacking Buffy like this. She didn't want to see her so hurt. But her natural reaction was to lash back at the girl who could so easily, and seemingly effortlessly, disregard all that had developed between them in the past few months to marry some jerk.

"I don't come _crawling _to you," the blonde snapped angrily. "You just happen to always be there."

"Well I haven't had any complaints from you yet," the dark-haired girl seethed, suddenly angry.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't marry Preston," Buffy retorted. "Can _you_ promise me a future, Faith?" she challenged. "Can you promise me _anything_?"

"_You _can't even promise yourself a future, Princess," the Boston slayer pointed out. "Don't forget that the expiration date on your forehead is just as big as mine."

Buffy shook her head animatedly. "It doesn't have to be like that for us anymore. You know that," she protested. "With all these other slayers Called, we don't have to constantly put ourselves and the people we love in danger."

"Keep tellin' yourself that, cutie," Faith leered. "But you know as well as I do that there's no retiring from this job. You can't lay in bed at night without that deep down tickle –

that itch that can only be scratched by shoving a piece of pointed wood through some dead thing's chest."

"So it's not the perfect situation," Buffy snapped defensively. "I know that. But it's the best I can do. It's the best I can hope for."

Faith threw her hands up in the air in disgust and frustration. "Are you _so _fixated on being a 'Normal Girl' that you're willing to throw your life away and marry a man you don't even love?"

Buffy bristled at the Bostonian's harsh words. "You don't know that," she cried. "You don't know how I feel about Preston."

"Maybe not," the dark-haired woman admitted. "But I know how you feel about _me_."

The Californian's hazel-green eyes flashed with defiance. "Oh really? And what's that? Repulsion? Pity? Scorn?"

"No," Faith growled, her deep voice thick and sticking on the syllables. "You might think you hate me, Buffy. But that's only because you hate _what we are_."

The girl clutched onto Buffy's hand and placed it against her breastplate, over her heart. "You've always hated this Calling…our Duty," she seethed darkly. "And you hate me because instead of whining about being Chosen, I _thrive_." Faith shook her head bitterly. "No…you don't hate me, B. I know that." Her eyes flashed as she glowered at the shorter woman. "You love me like you love the air you breathe."

The Californian's breath hitched in her throat. The combination of Faith's closeness, her words, and the heat radiating from her chest was making her head spin. "And what suddenly makes you the expert on my emotions?" she stubbornly huffed.

"Because," Faith smirked, "I love you, too."

Buffy felt her knees give out as she watched the Boston girl take a step toward her. She knew what Faith wanted. Because she wanted it herself.

The California-born slayer closed her eyes tightly when she felt Faith's warm hands touch her sides. A wave of arousal flooded her body, and she took a deep breath to calm down. It shouldn't be like this. Faith shouldn't be able to make her body react like this when her brain reminded her that they were at her _engagement _party.

Buffy sighed quietly when she felt the confident, yet gentle touch of Faith's hand against the side of her face.

"No, Fai," she murmured unconvincingly. "We can't."

Undeterred, the Boston girl's hand lightly brushed against the elder slayer's cheek, the tips of her fingers gliding against her corn-silk soft hair. She ran her fingers gently through Buffy's fine locks, slightly massaging her scalp.

"How come you always smell so good?" Faith murmured, her eyes fixed on the blonde's delicate features. "It's intoxicating. How anyone can focus when you're around is beyond me."

"I…I shower regularly?" Buffy responded weakly.

Faith murmured her approval. "Now that's something I'd like to do."

The Californian couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips when Faith brushed her lips against the top of her ear. "What…what's that?" she stammered, her body shaking.

"Take a shower with you," the brunette replied, her voice a low burr in the Chosen One's ear.

Buffy swallowed hard when Faith sucked her earlobe into her mouth and began softly chewing on it. The smaller slayer could hear her blood pulsing inside her head.

"Would you like that, B?" the Boston girl asked as she nipped along the blonde's jaw line. Her voice was impossibly low. "Would you like to get wet and naked with me? I bet you've got a killer shower in this fancy house of yours."

Faith moved her mouth from the blonde's delicate jawbone down to her neck. She licked in the hollow of Buffy's throat and began to gently suck at the Californian's pressure point. No matter how many times Faith touched her like this, the golden slayer always marveled at the sensations. This wasn't the calloused fumbling of a man – Faith _knew_ how to touch her.

"God, Fai," the Chosen One sighed, closing her eyes. "You make me feel so good."

The sound of a soft gasp of surprise caused Buffy to abruptly pulled away from the taller slayer. Her hazel-green eyes flicked in the direction of the noise, and her stomach dropped when she saw her redheaded best friend standing on the back porch.

"I, uh," Willow stammered, "I was just getting some air. T-too much wine," she announced, holding up the near-empty glass in her hand. "I-I didn't mean to interrupt…" she trailed off and her eyes shifted between the two startled slayers.

Neither Buffy nor Faith moved or made an attempt to talk. After an awkward moment, the Wicca spun on her heels and fled back into the crowded house.

"Shit," Buffy sharply muttered under her breath as she watched Willow disappear. The Californian moved toward the back door and began to leave her sister-Slayer's side to follow the Wicca into the house.

Faith gently grabbed the blonde slayer's arm, halting her exit. "Hey," she called in a soft voice. "Where are you going? We need to talk about this."

Buffy shook her arm, causing the Boston woman to reluctantly let go of her limb. "No. _We_ don't need to talk. _I_ need to talk to Willow about what she just walked in on," she snapped curtly. "This never happened, Faith. I'm sorry. It…"

Buffy swallowed hard before continuing. "This is all just a mistake," she said, the tears easily springing to her hazel-green eyes. "Nothing's changed. I _am _going to marry Preston."

Buffy snuck into the house through the back kitchen entrance. She quickly scanned the assembled group for her redheaded best friend. The party crowd had gotten sizably larger in her absence. The first round of patrol was done and the girls responsible for the early twilight hours had showed up to unwind and celebrate with their other sister-Slayers.

The Chosen One grimaced when she spotted Kennedy, but without her Wicca girlfriend in tow. Kennedy acknowledged the elder woman's presence. "Hey, Buffy," she said with a nod and a solemn look. "Nice party."

"Uh, thanks," the blonde slayer replied. "H-Have you seen Willow?" she pressed, hoping the desperation in her voice was well-hidden.

Kennedy's mouth twitched. "Yeah," she said. The brunette girl nodded toward the front of the house. "I just saw her. I think she went to find a bathroom or some place to pass out." She laughed lightly. "Pour thing never could handle her booze."

Buffy nodded distractedly and started toward the living room.

"Have you seen Faith?" Kennedy asked, halting the blonde.

Buffy turned briefly. "No," she lied in a rush. "I haven't seen her since she first got here."

Kennedy looked disgruntled. She raised the two beer bottles in her hands. "I keep trying to find her to give her these," she explained.

Buffy gave the younger slayer a quick smile. "Sorry, Ken. If I see her, I'll tell her you're looking for her."

The Californian once again excused herself and made her way toward the front of the house in search of her best friend. She wasn't exactly sure _what _she was going to say to Willow once she did find her, but she'd worry about that when the time came.

In the living room, someone had fired up the karaoke machine. It had been an impulse purchase for the party. Buffy had insisted that it wasn't necessary, knowing that none of her closest friends had very good voices, but Preston had been keen on its inclusion. Buffy recognized the vocals of one of the younger Cleveland slayers over the speakers destroying some Norah Jones song.

The party hostess bobbed between groups of people, getting stopped now and again to say hi to friends from her day job who had made it to the party. A flash of red hair caught Buffy's eye, and she excused herself to maneuver in the direction of what she hoped was her best friend. The blonde slayer finally found her friend in a corner of the dining room, fidgeting with the now-full wine glass in her hands.

"Buffy!" the redhead squeaked when she saw the elder slayer. "I-I…"

"Wills," the blonde woman said in an exasperated tone. "I need to talk to you…about…about…"

An unexpected strain of country music guitars and drums erupted over the karaoke machine speakers before she could dive into what was sure to be a terribly awkward conversation.

Buffy and Willow gave each other an amused look. "When did Xander show up?" Buffy joked anxiously.

Willow couldn't suppress a giggle, despite still feeling unnerved by what she'd witnessed on the back porch. "Country Music," she laughed. "The music of pain."

The blonde's laughter was quickly stifled when the lyrics began. Buffy nearly choked on her tongue when she recognized the voice straining over the home theater speakers. It was Faith. And she was singing Johnny Cash.

_You say you're looking for someone_

_Who's never weak_

_But always strong_

_To protect you and defend you_

_Whether you are right or wrong_

_Someone to open each and every door_

The blonde slayer pushed toward the front of the house and made her way into the living room. Faith must have re-entered the house through the front door rather than return through the back entrance, the blonde reasoned. When Buffy finally got to the front room, she was rewarded with a view of Faith standing next to the karaoke machine. The brunette sang into the small, cheap microphone, not needing to look at the screen for the song's lyrics.

_But it ain't me, babe._

_No no no_

_It ain't me, babe._

_It ain't me you're looking for, babe._

Buffy tore her eyes away from the Bostonian when she felt a light touch at her elbow. Willow looked at her friend with amazement. "Did you know she could sing this well?" she asked.

The Californian swallowed and shook her head silently, before returning her gaze back to the angry woman. The dark-haired slayer's face was twisted into a scowl as she belted out the familiar lyrics. Faith's rage, if anything, only improved the impressive performance.

_You say you're looking for someone _

_To pick you up each time you fall_

_To gather flowers constantly_

_And to come each time you call_

_And who'll love you for your life and nothing more._

_But it ain't me, babe._

_No no no_

_It ain't me, babe._

_It ain't me you're looking for, babe._

When the song came to an end, a number of the younger slayers clapped and whistled their appreciation for the brunette slayer. Faith didn't acknowledge the other party guests, however. She simply walked toward the front of the house, grabbed her jacket from its hook in the foyer, and exited out the front door.

Buffy abandoned Willow's side without a word to her friend, despite still needing to explain herself to the Wiccan. She hastily followed Faith outside, eschewing her own jacket despite the chilly winter weather. When she closed the front door behind her, Faith had already made it to the sidewalk in front of the house.

"What the hell was that?" Buffy demanded loudly, raising her voice loud enough to cause the Bostonian to pause her retreat.

Faith turned on her thick heels. "Karaoke," she growled, her face dark beneath the Cleveland night sky, "or so I'm told."

The Californian slayer folded her hands across her chest. "You know what I mean." Her heels clomped noisily on the wooden porch as she descended the front steps.

"Don't flatter yourself, B," the Boston girl scoffed, shoving her clenched fists deep into the pockets of her leather jacket. "I just happen to dig Johnny Cash. That song meant nothing."

Buffy could still feel the fire in her pink cheeks. "Why did you have to show up tonight?" she demanded bitterly. "Why couldn't you just stay in Boston?"

"Is that what you really want?" Faith stomped a few steps toward the blonde, invading her personal space. Buffy's breath caught in her throat as she took in the venom that rolled off the brunette's body in waves.

Buffy knew that having Faith leave was not what she wanted. What she really wanted was for the scowling beauty to take her in a tight embrace and kiss her so hard she forgot about everything else. Preston. Slaying. This ridiculous wedding.

But she was too afraid of her unexpected emotions to admit that. Instead, Buffy nodded.

"Fine," Faith scowled, turning around once again. "Then that's what you'll get."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter breaks my heart.**

**Chapter 7: Grand Gestures**

_Suggested Listening: "Hey" – Pixies _

The Boston-born slayer sat at an empty table in the dimly lit room. The club was sparsely populated due to the early hour. A few patrons sat at their own tables scattered around the main floor of the 'gentlemen's club.' They didn't have the prettiest dancers at this specific strip club, and other bars had friendlier cocktail waitresses as well. But Faith wasn't concerned about that. Mostly, she just wanted to drink and be left alone.

"Private dance?"

The brunette looked up to see the hopeful gaze of one of the bar's strippers. Faith wouldn't have called herself a regular at this club, but she did have a knack for faces. The dancer standing before her was small and blonde, just the way the Boston woman enjoyed her women. Her flat-ironed hair looked slightly disheveled due to the humidity in the air. She wore a tiny outfit that struggled to contain the C-cup breasts atop her fit figure. Faith couldn't remember her stage name, but something told her it ended with the letter 'I'.

Faith merely grunted and allowed the barely-clad woman to grab her hand and bring her to her feet. The brunette had been drinking heavily before she even made it to the strip club and had a few more beers in her since she'd arrived at the bar just an hour previously. She swayed slightly on her feet and the room spun a little. Faith grabbed at her small table with her free hand and swallowed hard, forcing the wave of nausea to subside. When she was confident she could walk without falling over, the Boston slayer retrieved her half-empty beer bottle and obligingly followed the slightly swaying derriere of the stripper.

The woman led them down a narrow, dark hallway at the rear of the club that opened up into a larger room. Five separate stalls that resembled department-store changing rooms were in the space. The name-less dancer gently pushed Faith into a vacant stall and pulled the thick, blue curtain closed, hiding them from view. Before the dark slayer could react, fumbling fingers were immediately at her waistband.

"Where've you been hiding, Faith?" the girl demanded, roughly pulling the thick leather belt away from its buckle. The brunette slayer stood her ground despite her drunken state and the force with which the dancer tried to remove her belt. The metal buckle clanged noisily as the stripper hastily unfastened it. "You haven't been around for a couple of months at least," the exotic dancer observed. "Was starting to think you'd forgotten about me."

The Boston girl remained standing, not helping, but not stopping the dancer, as the other woman deftly unsnapped the front of her black denim pants. Faith's brain worked slowly as she tried to remember the girl's name. Mandi? Candi? Brandi? None of them sounded right.

The slayer took a quick pull from the long-necked beer bottle in her hand. She readjusted her stance, moving her feet apart to keep from toppling over. "Haven't been hiding," she lightly protested. "Just been busy."

The dancer slid the brunette slayer's leather jacket off her shoulders and it tumbled to the floor. Warm hands slid under the front of Faith's thin t-shirt, up under her cotton bra, and pulled and twisted at her hardening nipples. "Busy, huh?" the club employee leered. "Too busy for _this?_"

She pinched the Boston slayer's distended nipples, sending a jolt of arousal from Faith's breasts down to her clit. The brunette sucked in a sharp breath of air. "Guess you'll have to remind me what I've been missin'," she grunted.

Faith allowed the woman to push her a few steps backwards, further into the private stall, and she down on a black leather chair. The material groaned and squeaked as she settled into the seat.

"I should slap your face for forgettin' someone like me," the stripper purred, "but instead I think I'll just give ya something to remember me by."

The stripper got down on her knees in front of the dark-haired woman and finished unzipping the front of Faith's jeans. Not allowing the normally dominant slayer time to react or protest, the woman wiggled the slayer's pants and underwear off her hips and around her ankles, rendering her naked from the waist down.

The club dancer immediately pushed two fingers deep inside Faith's pussy, causing the Boston woman to gasp out loud. "Fuck," she wheezed, clamping her muscled thighs tight around the other woman's hand. The stripper smiled to herself, but didn't move her hand, allowing the brunette time to adjust to the sudden intrusion.

The nameless dancer dipped her head and lapped at the rogue slayer's exposed clit while her stilled fingers continued to fill the Boston slayer's cunt. Faith's hips jerked at the velvet touch, her pelvic bone bumping into the other woman's nose. The stripper rolled the Boston woman's sensitive nub around with the tip of her tongue and then sucked the small bit of flesh into her mouth.

"Yeah, that's it," Faith encouraged between clenched teeth, her hips rising towards the ceiling. She dug her fingernails into the arms of the leather chair. "Suck me off," she panted, "just like that."

Faith pulled on the woman's hair, forcing the dancer's face more fully into her aching sex. She pressed down on the back of the stripper's head, and the woman positioned between her splayed thighs mumbled her appreciation. Her muffled noises vibrated off of the Boston girl's clit.

The blonde dancer began to move her fingers in and out of Faith's now-dripping sex. The slayer tossed her head back and closed her eyes. "Fuck yeah," she muttered aloud, losing herself to the sensations rattling through her nerve-endings.

Faith bit her tongue as a sharp, sudden climax racked her body. Although she couldn't remember the dancer's name, she struggled but resisted moaning out the name at the tip of her tongue – _Buffy._

When she finally caught her ragged breath, the slayer stood up and unceremoniously pulled her pants back on and refastened her belt. She grabbed two cigarettes out of a hard pack that had fallen from the lining of her leather jacket and simultaneously lit them. Faith handed one of the burning cigarettes to the other woman who instinctively took it and inhaled deeply.

As the dancer came to her feet, Faith saw a familiar tattoo in the small of her back. The outline of the Superman villain suddenly jarred her memory. Faith fished into her back pocket and pulled two $20 bills out of her wallet. She handed the money to the woman still licking her juices from the corners of her mouth. The stripper leaned over and put the money inside her knee-high boots.

"Thanks for the _dance_, Lexi," Faith chuckled. She grabbed her jacket off the ground and shrugged into it.

"You takin' off so soon?" the dancer asked with a small frown.

"Yeah," the Boston slayer confirmed with a grunt. Her lit cigarette dangled precariously from her bottom lip. "Thanks for clearing my head, Lex. But I gotta get back to work."

_**Flashback – Cincinnati, Ohio**_

_Suggested Listening: Vertical Horizon – "Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)"_

Buffy stared out the window of the airport hotel room. It was a modest sized room, but it suited their purpose.

"We've been here all day..." she murmured aloud.

The blonde slayer watched the planes landing and preparing to take off outside of the giant ceiling-to-floor windows. The windows weren't actually that large, but they felt like they took up the entire room. Well, the windows…and the beds. 

Faith smirked at the woman innocently straddling her lap. The sheets were piled in heaps around their naked bodies, evidence of what activity had occupied their day.

"You complaining?" she asked through a twisted smile. "Cause about ten minutes ago, you were far from complaining. It was more along the lines of, '_Oh Fu_—.'"

Buffy placed a finger over Faith's lips, causing them both to smile.

"You're right," the blonde said in a subdued voice, "but we don't talk about that."

The elder slayer lifted her gaze from her lover and returned to staring out the window.

"What you lookin' at there, B?" the Bostonian asked, craning her neck to look out the window as well.

Buffy pursed her lips and continued to stare. "Nothing."

The dark-haired slayer shifted in bed. "There has to be something crazy happening for your attention to be taken away from the sexy you're straddlin' right now," she noted, gesturing to her naked body.

When Buffy failed to react, Faith propped herself on her elbows so she could look out the large window better. The sun was shining outside – odd for that time of year.

Buffy remained silent. Her silence rattled the brunette slayer.

"We shouldn't waste our time, B," Faith said quietly after a moment. "We…don't have much."

Buffy shifted her gaze away from the glass pane and looked back down at the woman between her thighs. "You're right," she sighed. "We shouldn't."

Faith stared intently at her blonde lover. "You could stay here, B." She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "You know you could, right?"

The blonde slayer looked momentarily amused. "In a hotel in Cincinnati?" she lightly joked, although she knew that's not what the Boston girl was referring to.

Faith's eyes were dark. "I mean with me," she clarified in a voice thick with emotion.

Buffy didn't reply, but instead nodded and gave the younger slayer a weak smile.

Instead of more words, the Chosen One lightly pulled her partner towards her. Faith helped by extending her arms completely, positioning herself so she was sitting upright. Buffy leaned forward and narrowed the distance between their mouths, lightly pressing her lips against the darker haired girl's. The Boston girl smiled into the elder woman's soft embrace.

Buffy began to bite lightly onto Faith's lower lip, nibbling on the pliable flesh between her teeth, eliciting a low purr from the back of the brunette's throat.

Without warning, the younger of the two flipped her lover onto the bed and repositioned herself on top of the blonde's naked form. Buffy squealed in surprise at the sudden movement.

The Boston girl smirked at the woman now lying beneath her. "You always were a bit of a screamer," she chuckled.

"Only with you," Buffy countered with a shy smile.

Faith bent her head and nuzzled her nose against the soft skin of Buffy's exposed neck. The Californian reflexively sighed at the brunette woman's confident touch.

"How did you find my spots so easily?" the blonde murmured aloud, moving her head to the side to afford her lover better access to her neck.

"It's my talent," Faith responded, lightly nipping at the elder woman's sensitive flesh.

Buffy reached up and tangled her fingers in the brunette's unruly waves, pulling her partner away from her neck and up to her mouth once again. The two shared an intimate, lazy kiss despite knowing that their time together was coming to an end. Soon enough Buffy would have to board her bus back to Cleveland and Faith was slated to return to Boston.

Faith pulled away from the elder woman's addictive mouth. Buffy gave the beautiful slayer a concerned look. "What's wrong?" she asked, touching the side of Faith's aching features.

"I need to taste you again," the brunette rumbled in a thick voice.

Buffy chewed on her bottom lip and whimpered. The need in the Boston-born slayer's words made her chest ache. The Chosen One propped herself up on her elbows and nodded her acquiesce, not breaking eye contact with the younger slayer.

Faith couldn't help the low chuckle that escaped her mouth as she settled herself on her stomach and slipped her forearms beneath the elder slayer's thighs.

Buffy quickly snapped her thighs together and sat upright. "What?" she demanded, feeling a little vulnerable. "What's so funny?"

The dark-haired girl gave her lover a lopsided grin. "Sorry, B. Didn't mean to make you self-conscious. I just got the Church Giggles about something."

"Oh?" the blonde slayer asked with a raised eyebrow. "About what?"

Faith's fingers went to the insides of Buffy's knees and she gently coaxed the Californian's thighs open once again. She placed soft, warm kisses on the tender flesh of Buffy's inner thighs, pulling quiet moans from the elder girl.

"Was just thinkin'," Faith explained, nibbling her way closer to Buffy's core, "that this might be my new Happy Place."

"Wh-Where exactly?" Buffy panted, letting her thighs fall apart even wider on the mattress. The blonde wanted nothing more than for Faith to busy her mouth with more intimate acts instead of the current conversation.

Faith licked along the length of Buffy's dripping slit with the flat of her tongue. The blonde groaned and arched her back, thrusting her naked breasts in the air.

The brunette sat back slightly on her haunches, her generous mouth curved into a mischievous smile. "Between your thighs, lover."

_**Present Day – Cleveland, Ohio**_

_Suggested Listening: Katy Perry – "Thinking of You"_

Outside the bridal shop window, a small jet plane sliced through the air leaving a small trail of white exhaust behind.

"What do you think of this flavor, hun?"

Buffy's hazel-eyes widened slightly when she realized her fiancé had caught her daydreaming. "Sorry," she rushed, turning her head to look at him. "What?"

Preston pointed at the small slice of wedding cake with the tines of his fork. "The raspberry chocolate?" he clarified, raising an eyebrow. "I figured it would be on the top of your list."

The blonde girl shifted her gaze away from the large picture window at the front of the store, and back down to the several pieces of flavored cake on the table.

"Oh, right," she stated without much emotion. She stabbed at a hunk of cake with her sample fork and brought the wedding dessert to her lips. "Yummy."

The past few months had been a flurry of activity. Between wedding planning and slaying, the blonde slayer hadn't had a lot of time to reflect on anything else. But despite the chaos of her personal and professional life, she'd still spent far too much energy thinking about Faith.

She hadn't heard from the Bostonian since the engagement party. No phone calls. No emails. No Internet chatting. Buffy was convinced the dark-haired girl had probably blocked her from every modern form of communication. She probably wouldn't even accept a message via carrier pigeon or the Pony Express either.

To make matters worse, she and Preston had actually been getting along the past few months. She couldn't remember the last time they'd had a big blowout argument. Between getting flowers, ordering invitations, making a guest list, and everything else that went into planning a wedding, her fiancé had been sweet and patient and extremely involved. Normally all of this would have made the Californian overwhelmingly happy;

but even with Preston behaving like the perfect Future-Husband lately, the blonde was unable to shake her thoughts of Faith.

And this, invariably, led to guilt.

Just when she thought she'd gotten over the Bostonian, something small would remind her of her sister-Slayer – especially airplanes and Mexican food. Buffy knew she shouldn't still be feeling this way about the other slayer. Her thoughts and emotions shouldn't be straying.

But with every step towards the wedding, she couldn't stop herself from wondering what Faith would think about all her bridal decisions. When picking out her bouquet for herself and her bridesmaids, the blonde couldn't help but wonder what the Boston brunette would think about the flower arrangements. When Buffy stood before the three-sided mirror and gazed at her reflection in the bridal boutique during her latest gown fitting, she had wondered what Faith would think of her dress rather than the more natural thoughts that should have gone back to Preston's opinion. Everything always came back to Faith.

Preston was the safe choice. Preston was the 'normal' choice. He was attractive and stable and uncomplicated. He was Riley without the Army-demon training. Faith was violent and dark and an ex-con. Faith was everything Buffy had always told herself was dangerous and wrong for her. Plus, she was a _girl. _And as the days before the wedding ticked by, Buffy was no closer to a decision. Were these just cold feet, the Chosen One pondered, or did she really want to be making wedding plans with Faith instead of Preston?

"So we've got to meet with the caterer later and talk to her about a gluten-free option for my sister." Preston noted, not bothered by Buffy's lack of enthusiasm. "I'll never hear the end of it from her if there's nothing at the reception that she can eat."

Buffy made a noise of agreement. Preston continued to drone on happily about wedding details, while the blonde slayer turned her eyes back toward the window pane and watched another airplane cut through the cloudless sky.

_**Present Day – Boston, Massachusetts**_

Faith sat in front of the small television set and flicked through the limited amount of channels. "Fuckin' nothing on," she murmured to herself. She took another long pull from the bottle of Jack in her hand and paused when the phone beside her shrilly rang.

The dark slayer felt something tighten in her chest and her breath slightly hitched in her throat. She hadn't heard from Buffy since the engagement party. True, she hadn't made it easy for the elder girl to contact her. She'd blocked her emails and chat requests and had deleted voice mails without listening or replying.

But maybe…maybe Buffy was calling to apologize. Maybe she was calling to say that she'd made a mistake. Maybe she was calling to say she was just downstairs and to buzz her up.

She carefully set the half-filled, glass bottle on the coffee table. She wiped her slightly damp hands on the thighs of her jeans and picked up the phone. "Hello?" she answered.

"So are you coming to the wedding or what? 'Cause I haven't gotten your RSVP yet," the annoyed, yet feminine voice complained.

The Boston woman struggled momentarily to place the voice. "Kennedy?"

"Yes. It's me," the younger slayer responded curtly. "You haven't sent your RSVP card back. So what's up?"

Faith swallowed hard. Of course it was too much to hope that Buffy would actually cancel the wedding.

"Why are you doing wedding stuff for Buffy?" The raven-haired slayer asked, avoiding Kennedy's original question.

The former boarding-school brat snickered to herself. "Don't ask how I somehow got stuck doing these follow-up calls," she admitted. "I guess Wills got me more whipped than I thought."

The Boston girl gripped the phone, but didn't respond.

"Are you broken or something?" Kennedy said into the receiver. "Where's the not-too-subtle comment about me wrapped around Red's fingers?"

Faith sighed miserably. "Sorry, I, uh…just feeling a little under the weather I guess."

"Dude, you'd better be there," Kennedy warned. "Don't make me suffer through a Buffy wedding on my own. Frilly dresses and Mariah Carey aren't exactly my thing, ya know," she quipped.

"I don't know if I'm gonna make it, Ken," the Boston slayer sighed. She rubbed at her temples and closed her eyes. "It's, uh, not a good time over here. Pretty busy."

"Oh, don't give me that crap," the other brunette slayer sharply complained. "You could skip away for a long weekend."

Faith furrowed her eyebrows together. It seemed odd to her that Kennedy would be so insistent that she show up at the nuptials. "Willow didn't tell you?" she asked cautiously, remembering the shocked and mildly horrified look in the redhead's eyes when she'd interrupted Faith and Buffy on the back porch.

"Tell me what?"

"Nothing," Faith lied, lightly punching her fist against the arm of the couch. "It's…it's not important."

"So what do I tell Buffy?" Kennedy pressed.

"Tell her whatever you want," Faith snapped in reply.

The brunette in Cleveland didn't give up easily. "She keeps bugging me about you coming," the young slayer noted wistfully.

Kennedy's words made the Boston girl pause: "Why would she…did she say _why _she wanted me there?"

"No," the other slayer stated.

Faith's swallowed hard. "Yeah, well, she knows how I feel about this wedding." The words felt sour in the Bostonian's mouth.

"Dude. Grow a pair, will ya?"

Faith sat up straighter on the couch. "What did you just say to me?" she growled into the phone.

"Did I stutter?" the younger brunette challenged. "Fuck it, Faith," she grumbled with an exasperated sigh. "I know how you feel about her. And hell if I know why you like her that much – she certainly doesn't deserve someone kick ass like yourself."

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Kennedy," the Boston girl steamed, "but I don't like what I think you're implying."

"Jesus Christ, Lehane," the boarding-school slayer huffed. "How long are you gonna keep up this lie? Is it working for you? Do you have yourself convinced yet that you're not in love with Buffy?"

Kennedy's bold words made the other brunette slayer choke on a hasty response. Hearing someone else say the words, someone other than herself, was sobering.

"I-I…"

"Get on the next plane, or train, or automobile…hell…get on a flying carpet and come fight for your chick," Kennedy commanded.

"Even if you _were_ right about me and Buffy, which I'm not saying you are," Faith quickly added the caveat, "I'm not about to reenact some scene from _The Graduate _and storm the church," she muttered bitterly. "Those kind of dramatics ain't my style."

"But that's what Buffy _needs _you to do," Kennedy countered with emotion. "You know how she works…she needs a big show of emotions – a…a grand gesture of sorts."

Faith took a pull straight from the bottle of Jack and made a face as the liquid burned the back of her throat.

"Ain't gonna happen, Ken," she said, swallowing her emotions along with the fiery alcohol. "B knows how I feel, and she knows how to find me," she continued. "It's not my job to beg her not to marry that douche bag."

"You don't have to beg, Faith," Kennedy tried to reason. "Just… just show up."

Faith sat in silence, clutching the phone. Could it really be that easy? Could she just show up and everything would be all right again? Would Buffy cancel the wedding for her? No, she shook her head. Nothing between she and Buffy had ever been easy, and this was no different.

"I'm putting you down as a 'Maybe'." Kennedy chuckled when Faith didn't respond.

Faith failed to see the humor in the younger slayer's words. "Yeah…maybe," she sighed glumly.

Maybe.

Her favorite word lately – _maybe_. That last clinging to hope.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Bachelorette Party, Part I (or the time Buffy didn't get strippers)**

"What is _she _doing here?" the blonde hissed when she recognized the smoldering silhouette approaching their table.

Willow glanced up from her drink and then quickly back to Buffy when she too noticed the newcomer. "Ah, I don't know," she answered honestly. The redheaded witch flashed a warning look in the direction of her brunette girlfriend who had suddenly gone quiet. "Kennedy," she asked, "do you know anything about this?"

The young slayer smiled innocently and took a sip of her mixed drink through a plastic straw. "Why shouldn't she get an invite?"

"I don't remember putting her on the guest list for this," Buffy glared at her best friend's partner.

The last time Buffy had seen Faith, she had rejected the advances of the dark-haired slayer just outside of her Cleveland home. And they hadn't spoken since. Things had been going well with Preston without the complicated distraction of the Boston-born slayer. The last thing she needed was the dangerous brunette showing up unexpectedly tonight, so close to the wedding.

If she had known Faith was going to show up at her party, she could have at least mentally prepared for her presence. She could have assembled a list of comebacks, or something. It was hard enough ignoring the urge to call or at least IM her sister-Slayer after how things had ended between them at her engagement party. Being face-to-face with Faith once again wasn't going to make her decision to go through with the wedding any easier.

Kennedy shrugged nonchalantly. "Then I guess you shouldn't have put me in charge of anything wedding related if you're gonna be so picky about who comes to your Bachelorette party."

The threesome's conversation stopped abruptly when Faith walked closer. The Boston slayer flashed the three friends an easy smile. "Hey kids," she breathed. "How's tricks?"

Kennedy gave the leather-clad slayer a wide smile. "Hey, Faith. Glad you could make it. I wasn't sure you'd gotten my message about the party."

The Boston slayer grinned wider, pulling out her deep dimples. "Well, I _had_ to make the trip," she asserted. "Can't let Buffy go down the aisle without one last blow-out, right?"

Buffy flushed and averted her eyes. She hoped the dim lighting of the club would camouflage her embarrassment.

The brunette slid into the corner booth with the three women, bumping into the blonde slayer as she settled in. Both Buffy and Willow looked uncomfortable while Kennedy continued to smile like the cat who'd eaten the canary.

Faith scanned the dance club, her face looking almost bored. She recognized a few of the girls out on the dance floor – newbie slayers who'd been at the battle with the First. The assembled crowd was mixed, but most looked to be in their early twenties. Nothing about the non-descript club, however, suggested that this was a special night, let alone a bachelorette party.

Despite the stoicism her face belied, on the inside, Faith's stomach twisted and churned with anxiety. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do or say to the blonde. All she did know, however, is that she couldn't allow Buffy to marry a man she didn't truly love.

"Pretty tame for a bachelorette party if you ask me," the Boston girl mused aloud.

"Well nobody asked you," Buffy curtly retorted. She stared miserably at the beverage cupped between her hands.

"Buffy didn't want us to make a big deal," Willow explained from her seat next to the Bride-to-Be. "You know what happens when we try to throw her a party…demons show up…people can't leave…the usual."

"Shoulda at least gotten a couple of strippers or something," Faith noted with a mischievous grin.

"That's what _I _said, too!" Kennedy complained. Her voice burst out louder than she had intended and a few people in the vicinity stared at the four women. The young slayer glanced quickly at her Wicca girlfriend. "Not that I'm into that, or anything," she rushed in a mumbled tone.

An awkward silence fell over the foursome and Buffy, Willow, and Kennedy all fiddled anxiously with their drinks. Only Faith looked comfortable as she lounged in the corner booth. A new song blared over the club sound system, and Kennedy abruptly stood up from the table when she recognized the first notes.

"I love this song," she beamed. She captured her girlfriend's hand in her own. "C'mon, Red," she urged, pulling on the Wicca's hand. "Let's go show those other girls how it's done."

Willow cast a quick look in the direction of the blonde slayer.

Buffy sensed her best friend's hesitance to leave her behind with the dark-haired slayer. "It's okay, Will," she smiled bravely. "Go have fun. I'll be fine."

Faith wrapped her arm around Buffy's shoulder. "Yeah, Red. I'll keep Buffy comfy while you're gone," she leered.

"Well," Willow stated slowly as she began to stand up, "if you're _sure._"

The blonde girl nodded. "Go," she implored. "At least one of us should have fun tonight."

Buffy shrugged away from Faith's touch as the same-sex couple made their way to the dance floor. "Why do you always have to do that?" she complained, scooting away from the other slayer.

The brunette slayer smirked. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she stated with faux innocent.

The Californian made a disgruntled noise and slumped her shoulders forward. "Some Bachelorette party," she grumbled to herself. She played with the plastic straw in her fruity beverage. The ice in her drink had melted, watering down her drink.

"We could make our own fun," the brunette said under her breath.

Buffy's figure tensed when she felt strong fingers curl around her bare kneecap. "Faith," she growled in warning. Since her engagement, the blonde had only faltered once – when Faith touched and kissed her on the back porch at her engagement party. She knew she couldn't keep allowing things like that to happen, however good it felt. It wasn't fair to anyone.

Faith raised an eyebrow and her generous lips curved upwards. "Yes, Buffy?" she said with mock sincerity. She made no move to remove her hand from the elder slayer's leg, however. Instead, her fingers only crept higher up the blonde's bare thigh.

Buffy sucked in a deep, sharp breath when she felt the Boston girl's fingers brush along the inside of her upper thigh. The lighting was dark enough in the club that she knew no one would be able to see Faith's wandering hand, but that wasn't the point.

"Stop," the Californian insisted again. Her voice seemed to shake on the monosyllabic word.

Faith's short nails raked against the soft inner flesh of Buffy's thighs, all hidden beneath the table. She smiled when she felt the blonde woman shudder next to her.

"If you'd open up a littler wider," the brunette purred, "we could make our own fun right here." Her fingertips curled and brushed against the elastic band of Buffy's underwear. The material scratched against the Chosen One's sex, alerting her to just how bold the younger slayer was becoming.

"I said stop it, Faith!" the blonde snapped, pulling her leg away from the Boston woman's dangerous exploration. Buffy stood up abruptly and stomped away in the direction of the bar's nearest exit.

Kennedy and Willow appeared at the tableside, both looking a little sweaty and disheveled from their dancing. "What was that about?" Willow challenged the Boston girl.

Faith shrugged and looked unperturbed. "I dunno," she grunted. "Doesn't take much to get B's panties in a twist."

Kennedy snickered until she felt the sharp stab of her girlfriend's elbow in her ribs.

Willow glanced in the direction of the blonde's hasty exit. "Should we follow her?"

Kennedy slid her hand into her girlfriend's and entwined their fingers. "Aw, c'mon, baby," she cajoled. "We never get to go dancing like this anymore. I'm sure Buffy's fine. She's just throwing a fit about something. As usual," she added unhelpfully.

Faith hopped up from her seat at the small booth. "Yeah, you two go have fun," she echoed. "Go dance the night away. I'll, ah, go check on B and make sure she's okay. I'm sure it's just….pre-wedding jitters or something," she smiled.

Willow looked unconvinced.

Kennedy tugged on her girlfriend's arm. "C'mon, babe. Maybe I can even get the DJ to play that Katy Perry song you like so much."

The redhead blushed. "I…I do _not _like Katy Perry," she insisted.

Kennedy kissed her girlfriend's temple. "It's okay, babe. Nobody's gonna take your Lesbo Card away for listening to something that's not the Indigo Girls."

_Suggested Listening: Florence and the Machine – 'Girl with One Eye'_

"You certainly know how to make an exit," Faith stated, walking closer to the grumpy slayer. Her boots echoed in the dimly lit alley.

The Boston slayer was mildly surprised to find Buffy in the immediate vicinity of the club. She had half-expected her to have fled back to her suburban home, not linger near the service entrance of the popular bar.

"And you certainly know how to ruin a party," the blonde grumbled from her seat on a wooden crate.

The brunette girl chuckled. "Oh, c'mon, B. It's not like you were actually having _fun _in there before I showed up."

Buffy's bottom lip popped out of her mouth in a well-practiced pout. "I_ was_ having fun," she insisted in a whiney voice.

Faith took a seat next to the pouting slayer on an adjacent crate. "If I didn't know any better," she quipped, playfully knocking shoulders with the smaller woman, "I'd say you weren't happy to see me."

Buffy opened her mouth for a quick retort, but snapped her mouth closed when she thought better of it. There was no use in the two of them fighting. Not anymore, at least.

Finally, she sighed. "It's just…I wish I had gotten some kind of warning."

The Boston girl raised an eyebrow. "What'd you need a warning about?"

Buffy pointed at the brunette. "You. You coming here tonight." Her carefully manicured eyebrows furrowed together, and she looked confused. "It's…it's hard to be around you right now."

"If it's so hard, then why keep fighting this?" Faith leaned forward and slowly licked her full, bottom lip.

Buffy felt herself getting pulled into Faith's dark, smoldering gaze. It was as if those deep, chocolate eyes contained magnets. She knew Faith wanted to kiss her. And she wanted to be kissed.

The blonde stood up on shaky legs, breaking the spell. Buffy took a few steps away from the leaning brunette, leaving the Boston girl hanging at an awkward position. "You need to stop," she said in a quiet voice with her back facing the younger slayer.

Faith slowly stood as well. She wiped her sweaty palms on the tops of her jeans. "Why, Buffy?" she asked lightly. "Why is 'Stop' the word of the day?"

Buffy dropped her eyes to the asphalt, her back still turned on the dark slayer. "Because I'm not that strong."

Faith's hands slid around the blonde's slender waist from behind and rested on her hips. "You don't have to be strong with me around, B," she breathed into her ear. "I can be strong for the both of us."

The Californian closed her eyes tightly. "It's not that easy, Fai." She sighed deeply, but allowed herself to be held from behind by the taller girl.

"You look really good tonight, B," Faith murmured, kissing the side of Buffy's neck. She ignored the elder woman's reticence. She nuzzled her nose against the smaller slayer's flesh. "Smell good, too."

Buffy sighed again, but it was not one of despair or exhaustion. "Why'd you come here tonight, Faith?"

The brunette bumped the tip of her nose lovingly against Buffy's right ear and her jaw line. "Just wanted to see you," she whispered into the elder slayer's fragrant skin. "I missed you."

"N-nothing else?"

The hands at Buffy's waist tightened.

Faith nipped at the top of Buffy's ear. "Why?" the brunette challenged in a quiet voice.

The blonde swallowed hard when Faith's hands wandered up to cup her breasts over her sheer top. Her hands softly massaged the small slayer's pert breasts. "Did you have something else in mind?"

Buffy could only whimper in response when the dangerous brunette pinched and twisted her hardening nipples through her lacy bra and thin top. Faith growled deep in her throat as the California slayer pressed her backside more firmly into the taller woman's body. Even if she wasn't saying the encouraging words Faith longed to hear, everything about Buffy's body-language gave her the confidence to continue.

The Boston girl abandoned the svelte slayer's breasts and moved her hands beneath Buffy's skirt. Her hands slid easily beneath the cotton material and up the blonde's equally smooth legs. Despite their partially exposed location, the smaller slayer surprisingly didn't protest. No one would voluntarily venture down the darkened alley at this hour, but it certainly wasn't isolated, either.

Buffy could feel the heat radiating from Faith's hands. She could feel the tension and the hesitation as the raven-haired beauty fumbled momentarily with the shorter woman's lacy underwear. The Boston girl shoved the material to the side, affording her better access to the blonde's sex.

Buffy gasped out loud when she felt Faith's fingers enter her from behind without warning. "Fuh," she panted as the air left her lungs.

Faith steadied herself and the smaller woman by placing her free hand flat against Buffy's taunt stomach. "Nice to know you're ready for me so soon," she stated between clenched teeth. "Was worried that your boy might have dried you up."

Faith knew what she was doing was wrong and unfair, but she couldn't control herself. The Californian-born slayer had yielded too easily to her advances. And the arousal coating her fingers was evidence that the blonde didn't wantFaith to act controlled, either.

"So tell me, B. And be honest," the Boston girl growled into the smaller woman's ear. She pulled back her fingers until only the first knuckles hovered near the blonde's tight hole. "Do you think about me when you're fuckin' that pinhead?"

She stabbed her fingers back into the golden-haired slayer's sex. Buffy moaned and bit her lower lip; it felt as though Faith's fingers had gone impossibly deep inside her.

Faith's voice was hard in the blonde's ear. "Do you imagine it's _my_ tongue and fingers when he's between your thighs?"

Buffy shuddered when Faith bit down lightly on the patch of skin between her neck and shoulder. Her skirt, which had seemed like such a practical decision with the muggy summer weather, was now bunched up around her waist. The Californian bent slightly as the dark-haired woman continued to ram her fingers in and out of her soaking slit from behind.

"Does he know how you like to be touched?" the brunette demanded in a harsh whisper, her fingers unrelenting, unforgiving. "Does he make you cum?"

In one deft and unexpected motion, the Boston woman pulled Buffy's thong down her hips, and it dangled precariously around her knees. Gravel crunched against pavement as the dark-haired woman repositioned herself, falling to her knees behind the prone slayer. The blonde felt vulnerable and exposed as Faith separated her pussy lips with the tips of her fingers. She blew cool air onto Buffy's swollen pussy lips.

This wasn't exactly how the Californian had expected to spend her Bachelorette Party. When Willow had insisted she even _have _one, the blonde had relented but only after her red-headed best friend assured her there would be no surprises.

Faith stuck her tongue out and licked up the juices that had accumulated on Buffy's inner thighs. Keeping the elder woman's pussy spread wide with her fingers, she slid her tongue deep inside her wet gash.

"Oh God," Buffy moaned loudly, her eyes rolling into her head.

It was wrong. It was all wrong. Everything she was letting Faith do to her was Wrong with a Capital W. But Buffy couldn't help herself. Everything about Faith felt too good.

She spread her legs further apart – as far apart as the underwear around her knees would allow – and rested her hands on her knees, bending over for the Boston girl. Faith's tongue assaulted her insides while her short nails dug into her thighs, leaving behind half-moon indentations in the blonde slayer's toned flesh.

Over and over again, Faith stabbed her tongue into the elder girl's wetness. Her stiff, textured tongue slipped over Buffy's most intimate crevices and folds, causing the blonde to call out into the darkness after just a few intense minutes.

When the tremors of the blonde's climax faded, Faith slid out of the elder woman's pussy. As if suddenly remembering herself, Buffy straightened and pulled her skirt back down. She smoothed the slightly rumbled cotton material over the tops of her thighs and was unable to look at the Boston girl.

Faith stood up from the asphalt and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm staying at the Sheraton by the airport," she rasped gruffly. "Room 537. If you want a bachelorette party you'll never forget, ditch the geek squad and come over."

Buffy walked through the front entrance of the chain-hotel. She hesitated momentarily when the tall man behind the front desk looked up from his book. It was late. Too late for the typical customer to be checking into the hotel for the night. Everything about Buffy's presence screamed 'Booty-Call' and she knew it.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Oh…um…elevator?" the blonde managed to get out. "I'm visiting a friend. Just here to talk."

The hotel employee pointed to the left. Buffy flashed the man a brief, thankful smile and headed toward that direction.

An older couple stood in front of the closed elevator doors, waiting for the elevator to arrive as well. The silver-haired man smiled at the attractive blonde. "G'evening," he rumbled in a deep voice.

"I'm not staying here," the Californian blurted out. "Just visiting a friend. To talk. Nothing else."

The couple gave the girl a strange look and Buffy blushed at her ineptness. When had she become so socially awkward?

The elevator ride to the 5th floor was uncomfortable. Buffy stared straight ahead, not daring to look at the older man and woman in the tiny compartment with her. When the elevator reached her floor, it lurched and paused. The doors retracted and Buffy rushed out of the lift.

"Have a good night!" she chirped, not looking back at the stunned pair inside.

Following the directional signs, the Californian soon found herself in front of room 537.

"Just here to talk," Buffy mumbled to herself as she stood outside of Faith's hotel room. "Just here to talk," she repeated as she raised her hand to knock on the door.

After a short moment of painful waiting, the door finally swung open.

"Hi," Buffy squeaked.

Faith stood in the doorway, still wearing the tight denim and white wife beater she'd worn to the club earlier. Her dark hair hung in loose tendrils, framing her face. Her face didn't reveal if she was surprised to see the blonde girl at her rented room.

"Come in," Faith said, moving to the side.

Buffy walked into the modest motel room. The room was clean, but felt old. Two double beds occupied most of the main room. An uncomfortable-looking office chair and cherry wood table took up the space near the large, blinded windows. To the left was a doorway that led to the standard hotel bathroom. The room was silent beyond the gentle hum of the air conditioner.

"I'm just here to talk," Buffy announced into the room.

Faith smiled slowly as she closed the door silently. "No you're not."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Bachelorette Party, Part II (or the time Buffy got a stripper)**

_Suggested Listening: "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" – Alicia Keys_

Faith closed the door and turned to face the elder slayer.

The blonde blinked. "What you did tonight…outside the club…"

Faith's cocky smirk fell from her face. "God, B. I totally lost control back there." She covered her face with her hands and took a deep breath. "I just…." She was silent for a moment until her hands dropped and her shoulders straightened. "I really came here…I came to Cleveland tonight to see you off," she explained, looking into Buffy's hazel-green eyes. "I didn't mean to complicate things by…doing that. I-I just couldn't help myself."

"How did you know where to find me?" Buffy asked pointedly.

"Kennedy told me about the party," the brunette revealed. She rubbed at the back of her neck and gave the Californian a pained look. "I just…I just needed to know."

Buffy's face looked skeptical. "Needed to know what?"

Faith's head dropped and she looked up at her sister-Slayer through her thick eyelashes. "I needed to know if you were happy."

"You mean with Preston," Buffy said slowly.

The Bostonian nodded. " 'Cause if you are, I'll stop showing up like this," she noted. "I'm not gonna apologize for what happened earlier, but I don't wanna fuck up a good thing for you. You deserve to be happy."

Buffy looked hard at the dangerous slayer. Had Faith really come all this way just to give her blessing for the wedding? As the Boston girl kept her eyes averted, something inside the blonde slayer broke.

Before Faith could react, Buffy's lips were pressed against hers, hungrily exploring her mouth. The Chosen One groaned loudly when Faith immediately thrust her tongue into Buffy's mouth, tasting the aftereffects of whatever fruity beverage the blonde had been nursing at the dance club. Buffy's hands made their way beneath Faith's white tank top and she raked her short fingernails down the taller woman's taut abdomen.

"Wait, Buffy," the brunette said a little breathlessly. "Stop." Faith pulled the blonde's wrists away from her body. "I-I can't do this again," she said with effort. "I won't be a home-wrecker. Besides, you only came here to talk, remember?" She smiled with only half her face.

Buffy took her sister-Slayer's hand and slid it under her skirt. The Boston woman offered her no resistance, and she brought it to the wetness between her thighs. "Does it_ feel_ like I just want to talk?" the elder woman asked quietly, curling the brunette's fingers so they cupped her bare pussy.

Faith hissed when her fingertips came into contact with the slippery liquid spilling from Buffy's sex. Her arousal coated the inside of her soft thighs. "God, Buffy," she moaned in a pained voice.

The Boston girl grimaced as she slid a finger deep inside the Californian. The inside of Buffy's sex felt like molten lava, hot and thick around her prodding finger. Both women groaned loudly when Faith plunged another finger between the blonde's pussy lips.

"You – we, we can't," Faith stated breathlessly, although she didn't stop her movements between Buffy's thighs.

"Don't get a conscience on me now," the blonde growled through clenched teeth. Buffy felt slightly put off by Faith's show of unexpected willpower. Her brain told her that just being in this room with the dangerous brunette was wrong, but her body told her otherwise. Everything about the younger slayer felt right.

With remarkable self-control, the dark-haired slayer removed her hand from its former location nestled between the Chosen One's folds. Faith pushed at the blonde's chest and Buffy stumbled backwards. Her lips felt swollen and tingly and the ache between her thighs was now a roaring fire.

"We can't," the Boston girl repeated in a voice filled with resolve. She bent at the waist and gripped at her knees as though winded from a great effort.

"I thought I was going to get a Bachelorette Party I'd never forget?" Buffy taunted.

The elder slayer's body screamed in frustration. She wanted the old Faith Lehane – Want. Take. Have – not this mockery that stood before her. Buffy needed Faith to be possessive, damaged, angry, and violent. The Boston girl had only ever been gentle with her, minus the alley. The alleyway had re-awaken those dormant emotions and memories for the blonde.

If she had been bolder and surer of herself, she would have taken matters into her own hands. Faith's back would be pressed against the wall and Buffy's fingers would be buried deep inside her. It was as if another side to Buffy's personality had been unveiled. The want, the need, and the violence scared her, however. Was love supposed to feel like this?

"What are you…where are you going?" Buffy asked, her mouth slightly agape. She watched as the brunette girl calmly walked away. Faith grabbed a wooden chair from the far corner of the room and dragged it closer to the center.

A slow smile spread across the Boston woman's face. "I guess I _did _promise you a Bachelorette Party," she mused aloud.

Buffy nodded like an impetuous child, pulling a chuckle from the taller girl.

"Sit," the brunette smiled. "Enjoy."

While Buffy obeyed the dark slayer and took a seat, Faith turned on the hotel television and flipped to a music channel until she found what she was looking for. Alicia Key's music video to "Un-Thinkable" poured from the television's tin-y speakers.

Faith swayed back and forth in time to the music. The opening drumbeats filled the room. The brunette closed her eyes and ran her hands up her flat stomach, cupped her breasts, and brought her fingers up through her loose hair.

Buffy cleared her throat and squirmed a little in her chair. She was going to explode if she didn't get to touch the other slayer. With Faith's eyes still closed, Buffy stood and took a hold of the taller woman's hipbones. The Boston girl's eyelids flipped open and she frowned when she felt the blonde's hands on her.

"Ah-ah," the brunette chided. "Don't you know the rules? You can look, but you can't touch."

"Rules? For what?"

The edges of the brunette's lips curled upwards. "A lap dance, of course."

Faith pushed the smaller girl backwards with the tips of her fingers and Buffy fell back onto the chair.

"Sit, Buffy," the dancing girl commanded.

"I'm not a dog," the California girl pouted.

"You're kind of ruining this for yourself, blondie," Faith laughed. "Keep your trap shut and just enjoy the show, will ya?"

Faith popped the top button of her jeans and dragged the zipper down. Buffy immediately went silent. Her mouth was suddenly very dry, and she wet her lips like a predator sizing up its prey.

Her hips still wiggling in time with the music, the Boston girl hooked her thumbs at the waistline of her pants and shimmied the material down her hips, past her toned thighs, and down her legs. She removed her pants to reveal a pair of dark blue boi shorts. The stretchy material clung to her curves and accentuated the muscle tone of her upper thighs. Buffy nearly salivated thinking how perfect the brunette's tight backside must look in the form-fitting shorts.

Faith hooked her pants with the toes of her right root and flicked the jeans at the seated blonde. With her hands tightly clenching the bottom of her chair and her brain preoccupied, Buffy's slayer reflexes failed her and the jeans smacked her square in the face.

Buffy gave a startled cry. "Hey! I didn't realize I was going to be attacked by clothes," she protested.

Faith exploded with laughter. "God, I wish I had a recording of the look on your face just now. That might have been the funniest sound I've ever heard, too."

Buffy looked sour. "Some strip tease," she grumbled.

Faith cocked an eyebrow and pursed her lips. "Oh really?" she exclaimed, her tone mockingly serious. She feigned reaching for her discarded pants. " 'Cause I can stop right now if it's that bad."

"No, no!" Buffy protested. She grabbed the pants from the floor and tossed them into a far corner of the room. "Don't stop," she pouted. "I'm having fun."

"All right," Faith scowled. "But not another word from you or the clothes go back on. Understand?"

Buffy grinned and nodded enthusiastically. Faith smirked at the smaller slayer's enthusiasm and continued.

Moving her body with the hypnotic beats, Faith grabbed the bottom hem of her top and pulled it up her torso. She inched the material up, tantalizingly slow, revealing inch after inch of toned, slightly tanned flesh. The shirt shimmied up her abdomen and continued upwards to reveal a black sheen bra, more sporty than flimsy.

Faith removed her shirt entirely and grinned at the elder girl. "Heads up, B," she chuckled, tossing the shirt in her direction.

Buffy snatched the garment out of the air and resisted the urge to bury her face in the material. No doubt the younger slayer's top smelled like her. Buffy wanted to inhale that warm, spicy scent – to fill her nostrils with Faith's natural perfume. Instead, she kept the t-shirt on her lap.

Still wiggling and swaying her slight hips, the Boston girl turned until she was no longer facing the blonde. Faith's toned legs were straight and about shoulder-width apart. She abruptly bent over, just a few feet from the seated blonde. The material of Faith's dark underwear stretched deliciously over her ass cheeks, and she swayed her backside slightly in the air. Buffy nearly choked on her tongue at the erotic sight, and her eyes bugged out of their sockets.

With her back still turned to the blonde, Faith stood and reached for the back clasp of her bra. Buffy held her breath as she watched the brunette deftly unfasten the garment. Faith turned back around and held one hand across her chest, keeping her bra from falling off. She shrugged out of the shoulder straps and finally let the black garment fall away.

Her breasts stood up proudly and her nipples were already at attention. Buffy bit back a noise. Her sister-Slayer looked so soft and…edible.

Buffy swallowed hard as she watched the brunette softly pad closer to her. The brunette's dark eyes flashed dangerously, and Buffy audibly groaned when the dark-haired girl straddled her lap.

"Not supposed to touch," the blonde managed to choke out.

The Boston girl gave her sister-Slayer a wicked grin and flung her arms over the smaller girl's shoulders. "I didn't say anything about _me _not getting to touch…"

Knowing that disobeying Faith's "rules" might abruptly end her lap dance, the elder slayer gripped the bottom legs of her chair. The wood creaked and whined under the stress, threatening to snap off.

Faith leered. "Good girl," she murmured, fully enjoying the control she held over the elder girl.

Buffy shuddered when the Boston girl began to slowly grind on her lap. It took all of the Chosen One's willpower not to clamp onto Faith's flexing upper thighs or nuzzle her face between the Boston girl's naked breasts. As the brunette continued to straddle the smaller slayer, Buffy was wildly aware that only the thin cotton-blend separated the younger woman's sex from the tops of her own skirted thighs.

Even without Slayer senses, the blonde would have been able to feel the wet heat radiating from Faith's core. Buffy imagined slipping her hand under the waistband of the nearly-naked girl's underwear and gliding her fingers through her wetness.

"Fuck, you feel good," the blonde sighed contentedly. At the elder slayer's words, Faith's movements stilled.

"Buffy, it's late," the Boston girl stated in a defeated tone. "Shouldn't you be getting home?"

The Californian frowned. "You're kicking me out?" she asked incredulously.

Faith shook her head. "Not exactly. I just don't want you gettin' in trouble if someone's expecting you at home."

The younger slayer climbed off the other girl's lap and grabbed her wife-beater off the ground. Buffy instantly missed the heat of the brunette's curvy body and nearly cried aloud when Faith pulled her top back on, covering her naked breasts.

"I texted Willow on the way over here," the blonde informed the other slayer. "She knows where I am. She'll make sure Dawnie's okay for the night."

"That's not what I meant…" Faith trailed off, shaking her head.

Buffy gave the Boston slayer her best pout. "Can I stay the night?"

"I don't know…_can _you?" the younger slayer countered, folding her arms across her chest.

Buffy's face showed no amusement. "Don't play word games with me."

Faith's gaze flicked at the hotel bedside clock as though she had someplace to be. "Fine. I guess you can stay the night," she said reluctantly. "I'm gonna go brush my teeth," she said in a flat tone.

Without another word or glance, the Boston girl left the blonde, still sitting in the chair where she'd received her Bachelorette Party gift. Faith turned on the bathroom light and closed the door behind her.

Buffy felt uneasy about the abruptness to which Faith had ended her lap dance. She didn't know what she had done or said to upset the brunette, but she knew she'd done _something _wrong.

The elder slayer looked around the room while Faith busied herself in the bathroom. There were two double beds crowding the main space. The blonde wondered which bed Faith had been planning on using. She worried too that maybe the Boston girl wouldn't even want to share the same bed.

Buffy briefly considered shoving the two beds together, creating a California King-sized mattress, but worried it would come off as too presumptuous. Deciding against it, she shed her skirt and top and slid under the covers of the bed closest to the bathroom in only her bra and underwear.

The bathroom faucet turned off and the bathroom door opened. Faith emerged, her mouth strangely contorted as she flossed her teeth. The sight was comical – the dangerous brunette in her devastatingly sexy shorts and thin top, padding across the hotel carpet, flossing her teeth. Buffy giggled from the bed.

"Shouldn't neglect your gums," Faith worded around her probing fingers.

"I'll keep that in mind, Julia Roberts from _Pretty Woman_," the blonde quipped.

Faith snorted and threw away the used floss. "You _wish _I was a hooker," she leered. "Couldn't afford me on your salary, Peaches.

The Boston slayer seemed to hesitate momentarily before deciding to join the elder girl in the same bed. She kept her tank top and underwear on, however.

"Is this okay?" Faith asked, settling onto the pillows beside the blonde.

"It's _your_ room," the Chosen One reminded her. "You can sleep wherever."

Faith made an indistinguishable sound.

The mattress sank and crisp cotton sheets rustled as the Boston girl rearranged her body on her side of the bed. Buffy sucked in a sharp breath and her body tensed when Faith's arm was suddenly draped across her chest.

"I'm just turning off the light," the younger girl grumbled. "Don't jump outta your skin." The brunette reached further across the smaller girl's form and turned off the bedside reading lamp.

"My skin is fine," Buffy shot defensively. "I was just…hoping."

"For what?"

"That you were going to kiss me again," Buffy admitted honestly.

Faith cursed under her breath. The golden-haired slayer was testing the limits of her willpower. "You're getting married in like a week, Buffy," she sighed.

Buffy worried her bottom lip, but remained silent.

Faith propped herself up on one elbow and stared at the other woman through the darkness. "Cancel the wedding," she challenged, "and I'll kiss you all you want."

Buffy laughed bitterly. "You make it sound so easy."

"It could be," the Boston girl grumbled, flopping back onto her backside.

"Could you just…hold me? Like on Christmas Eve?"

Faith's heart ached. She didn't know how much more of this torture she could handle. "Yeah, I can do that," she rasped in a voice thick with emotion.

The mattress shifted and sheets rustled once again as the two women repositioned themselves.

Faith slid her arm beneath Buffy's pillow and pulled the smaller slayer close. The Californian rested her head on the taller girl's breastplate and laid a hand flat on Faith's abdomen. The brunette's tank top had ridden up on her stomach and Buffy could feel the heat pouring from that ribbon of flesh.

The dark-haired woman's heart thudded heavily in her chest cavity. Buffy timed her own breathing with the rhythmic thumping, enjoying the gentle rise and fall of Faith's chest beneath her head.

"Night, B," the Boston slayer murmured. She tenderly kissed the top of the blonde's head.

"G'night, Fai," the Chosen One replied, snuggling herself deeper into Faith's flesh.

Faith remained awake; she could tell that the small blonde had immediately fallen asleep – her breathing was even and her quiet sighs filled the hotel room.

Nothing made sense to the Boston girl anymore. If Buffy was so into her, then why did she refuse to call off the wedding? That old phrase about letting the things you love go, flickered through her mind. Maybe if she left, Buffy would realize her mistake and not marry that guy. Or maybe Buffy really was waiting for that grand gesture like Kennedy had suggested.

But what else could she possibly do to prove herself to the blonde? Ever since they'd met as teenagers, Faith had always felt she was trying to prove something to the Chosen One. Prove her worth. Prove her station as a capable slayer. And now here she was fumbling to prove her love.

What did Buffy want from her? Did she need to write it in the clouds? Buy a billboard on the highway or plaster her feelings on a jumbo-tron?

After a few troubled hours, the brunette finally relented and allowed herself to sleep. But as she slipped out of consciousness, she realized she was even more confused than before.

A sharp rap at the door awoke the blonde slayer from her deep slumber.

"Housekeeping!" a slightly muffled voice announced from the hallway.

The golden-haired slayer flicked her eyes at the red illuminated clock next to the bed. It was just after 10am. And she was alone in the hotel bed. Another insistent knock pulled Buffy out of bed and she hastily pulled the crisp white sheet from the double mattress and haphazardly wrapped it around her naked body.

The housekeeper on the other side of the door looked startled when Buffy opened the door. "Oh!" she exclaimed, nearly dropping her keys. "You surprised me. I'm sorry," she chuckled at herself, "the front desk told me the girl in this room was gone already."

Buffy pulled the sheet tighter around her nearly-naked figure. "Uh, I'll be out soon," she grimaced. "Just give me a few minutes."

The Chosen One closed the door and turned to face the expanse of the room. Buffy scanned the room briefly, looking for any evidence of the Boston-born slayer, but came up empty. It was as if she'd never actually stayed in the room. Even the plastic key card she'd recalled seeing on the bed stand was no longer there.

The blonde woman quickly dressed and ran her fingers through her sleep tussled hair before exiting the room. Eschewing the stairs, the small slayer took the elevator. She bit back a groan when the lift doors opened, and she recognized the elderly couple from the previous night.

The graying man stepped to one side to make room for the Chosen One. "Good morning," he greeted as Buffy stepped into the elevator. Wrinkles crinkled at the corners of his eyes as he beamed at the young woman. "Did you have a good talk last night?"

"Harry!" his wife hissed under her breath. She elbowed her husband and looked wildly embarrassed for the duration of their elevator ride.

When the elevator reached the lobby level, the Californian hastily existed, but stopped at the front desk. A tall, thin woman with curly hair arranged in a tight bun stood behind the reception desk.

"Excuse me," Buffy started in an apologetic tone. Her fingers nervously drummed at the countertop. "Can you tell me if the girl in room 537 checked out?"

The hotel employee looked at Buffy briefly and then flicked her eyes toward a computer monitor. Her fingers flew over the elevated keyboard. "Ah, yes," she confirmed with a nod. "She checked out a few hours ago."

Buffy swallowed hard. "Did she…did she leave a note or anything?"

The receptionist shuffled some papers around and then looked back up at the blonde with pity apparent in her green eyes. "No, I'm sorry, Miss," she stated. "There's no message."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Nice Day for a…**

"This has got to be a sign of the apocalypse."

Buffy stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror and grimaced. The blonde had told the make-up artist she hated when brides didn't look like themselves on their wedding day, so she had pressed the woman to not make her look like a Drag Queen. Unfortunately, the stylist hadn't heeded her commands, and now the girl staring back at her looked like the second-coming of Rupaul.

The Chosen One turned away from the stranger in the mirror and looked wistfully at the white dress hanging at the back of the changing room. The garment almost seemed to taunt her from its wooden hanger. The flower arrangements were in place around the modest-sized church, the organist was warming up, and the guests were no doubt filing and assembling in the chapel, just beyond Buffy's changing room. Her own make-up was complete and the hairdresser had just finished her hair.

The only thing left for her to do was put on the gown. And walk down the aisle…

All of the final preparations for the day's Big Event had gone without a hitch. Finding the perfect wedding dress had been nearly effortless; when she'd gone dress shopping with Dawn in Columbus, it took only three or four dresses before she was able to make her final decision. And with Preston so eager to help out with the other arrangements, hiring photographers and caterers and deciding on flower arrangements hadn't taken much exertion either.

Even amassing the Guest List hadn't been hard as Buffy had thought; Preston came from a small, extended family and Buffy had really only wanted a few of her closest friends to be invited as well. And as she was still keeping Slaying a secret from her Husband-to-Be, she certainly wouldn't have been able to explain away a Guest List full of Demons, after all.

Wasn't this how relationships were supposed to go? Wasn't love supposed to be this easy? Moreover, it was probably the one time in all her life Buffy could recall organizing a party where an apocalypse hadn't popped up. Although her make-up was another issue altogether.

A knock at the door of the church room interrupted the blonde's thoughts. "Buffy?" came the slightly muffled voice. "How's it going in there?"

Recognizing the voice, the slayer sat down again in the uncomfortable wooden chair where she'd been seated for the past hour while the stylist had fussed over her hair extensions and make-up. "Come on in, Will," the girl sighed.

The heavy wooden door opened a crack and her best friend's head popped in. Willow flashed the Chosen One a brief, but encouraging smile. "Just checkin' up on ya," she explained. Her eyes bulged slightly when she took in the sight of the blonde slayer in the mirror's reflection. "Uh, Buff…" she started.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" the Californian moaned, her head dropping into her hands. "I _told _her not to! She wouldn't listen!"

Willow hastily entered the chamber adjacent to the church and closed the door behind her. "It's…fixable," she breathed, quickly crossing the room to aid her distressed friend. The powerful Wicca waved her hand in front of her, and the air in the room shifted.

"There," the redhead soothed. "All better."

Buffy stood and looked into the mirror again. Gone was the undertaker-heavy make-up. Gone were the lengthy blonde hair extensions that had been piled so high on top of her head, she had better resembled the Bride of Frankenstein. Now, a more tastefully coifed and subtly painted slayer stared back at her.

The California slayer released a shaky breath. "Thanks, Will." She looked away from the mirror and beamed at her friend. "I should have just asked you to be my stylist in the first place," she lightly laughed. "It would have saved me a bunch of money and grey hair."

"Do you need anything else?" Willow looked at the wall clock in the changing room. "It's almost show time."

"I've just got to squeeze into the dress and I'll be ready," Buffy assured her.

The redhead nodded. "Okay. All the girls and Giles are at the back of the church, just waiting for your grand entrance," she informed the soon-to-be-Bride. "And I've checked to make sure Preston and his groomsmen are ready at the front of the chapel, too."

Even though Dawn was technically her Maid-of-Honor, Buffy's best friend had stepped up to make sure everything on the day of the wedding was running smoothly.

"Thanks for all the help, Will," Buffy smiled gratefully. "You're the best."

The former computer nerd laughed and shrugged. "I don't know how you're so calm about all of this," she admitted. "If I ever get married, I'm sure I'll be a wreck."

Buffy took her friend's hand in her own and gave the witch a warm smile. "Well, if you ever do decide to have a ceremony, you'll have me there making sure everything happens without a hitch." She grinned widely. "If anyone steps out of line, they'll have a Slayer to deal with."

Another knock, this time more tentative, interrupted the two women's conversation.

"Are you expecting someone?" the redheaded Wicca asked, looking at the closed changing room door.

Buffy's chest momentarily tightened. _It couldn't be…she wouldn't just show up like this, would she? _

Unable to form words, Buffy simply shook her head.

Willow made her way toward the closed door and opened it a crack – if it was Preston on the other side, she didn't want him to ruin everything by seeing the Bride before the wedding. A small gasp escaped her lips when her eyes focused on the figure standing in the church hallway.

"Xander!" Willow fully opened the wooden door and threw herself at the tall man on the other side of the threshold.

With the fall of Sunnydale, Xander had chosen to abandon demon hunting rather than help reform the Council and train the new generation of Slayers. He had told the group he needed some time and space from the Supernatural World. With the death of Anya, the one-eyed man had suffered too much. He normally emailed Willow a few times a month, but beyond that he'd had little communication with the former Scoobies. Now, unexpectedly, he stood outside of Buffy's changing room.

Buffy squealed loudly and ran toward her old friend as well. She threw her arms around Xander, joining Willow in a group hug.

"Hey guys." Xander coughed, clearing his throat. "Uh, Buff…you're kinda in the buff."

Buffy stopped hugging the man long enough to look down at her own form. With her wedding gown still on its hanger, she currently wore only her bridal lingerie.

"Oh hell," she muttered playfully, "who cares."

"Certainly not me!" Xander chuckled good-naturedly and squeezed the small slayer harder.

"I can't believe you're here!" Buffy breathed when she finally pulled herself away from the dark-haired man.

The Chosen One took a moment to really take in the sight of her estranged friend. He was barely recognizable. He'd lost at least thirty pounds since the last time she'd seen him, looking more like his high school build. His dark hair, normally closely cropped, was shaggy and covered his ears.

Xander gave his two best friends a lopsided grin and shrugged good-naturedly. "Well, I figured it was about time I came back."

"You're coming back?" Willow exclaimed. "You mean like for good?"

The former carpenter nodded. "When I first left," he started, "I was just worn out. Too much death. Too much pain. But I've missed fighting the good fight," Xander admitted. "I've missed _you guys_," he added.

"We missed you, too, Xand," the redhead cheered. "C'mon," she urged, grabbing onto her long-time friend's hand. "Let's go find the others and let Buffy finish getting ready. Dawnie's gonna lose her mind when she sees you."

Willow turned back and squeezed Buffy's hand before leaving. "We'll see you out there soon?"

Buffy gave her two best friends a brave smile and nodded once. "I'll be out there in a few minutes," she told them.

The Chosen One watched Xander and Willow chirping happily as they walked away together. When they turned around a corner and out of sight, she closed the door to her changing room and once again headed back to where her wedding dress hung.

Buffy sighed deeply, her shoulders heaving once. "Well, here we go," she mumbled to herself as she reached for the white dress.

The California slayer eased herself into the formal gown, careful not to get make-up on the white dress or mess up her hair. She re-arranged the strapless bodice so it fell at an appropriately level on her modest chest. Her bronzed skin contrasted appealing against the white sheen of the dress's material. Buffy smiled at her reflection and smoothed the gown at her slightly flaring hips. She looked good.

A few minutes after Willow and Xander's exit, a third knock on the changing room door alerted the blonde. Buffy looked up at a wall clock and grimaced. It wasn't time yet. Why was everyone so eager for her to walk down the aisle today?

Expecting her best friend to reappear and hustle her further along, she announced, "It's open," and didn't turn away from the full-length mirror.

The door opened, creaking quietly on its metal hinges, and soft gasp filled Buffy's ears. The Chosen One turned away from her reflection, her full skirt rustling with the movement.

"Faith."

The Boston girl stood in the threshold of the small room, one hand on the door handle, another hand positioned near her mouth. Faith wasn't exactly dressed for a wedding – leather pants and a t-shirt – although if Buffy thought about it, the only time she'd ever seen Faith dressed appropriately for anything had been at Homecoming. Even then, however, her dress had left little to the imagination. And Buffy had imagined all sorts of things that night about her sister-Slayer.

"Y-you look amazing, Buffy," the brunette slayer slightly stuttered.

"This old thing?" the blonde retorted calmly, despite being visibly shaken by the Boston slayer's unannounced arrival.

Rather than continue to stare at the brunette woman, she looked down at the wedding gown she had painstakingly purchased. The price tag had been a little out of her range, but she figured you only get married once…or twice…so why not go all out?

"I'm serious, B," Faith declared, shaking her head. She took a tentative step toward the Bride-to-be and closed the door behind her. "It's…it's breathtaking. _You're _breathtaking. Too bad you're wasting it on that dude."

Buffy frowned deeply and put her hands on her hips. "Did you show up just to give me a hard time?" she snapped.

"No," the dark-haired woman countered in a calm voice. "I came here to stop you."

The golden-haired slayer's breath caught in her throat. She had thought something like this might happen – Faith showing up at the last minute to stop her – but now that she was faced with the situation, she didn't know what to do. Indecision plagued her thoughts.

Faith took a deep breath. Her features looked pained and troubled. "Buffy," she started in an exasperated voice, "why are you going through with this? Why are you going to marry him?" she implored. "You know I love you."

Buffy's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Do I?" she stubbornly challenged. "You've never said the words before."

Faith's mouth hardened in a straight line. "I told you at your engagement party."

The blonde's mouth twitched. "Oh…right. Well," she hesitated before countering, "I certainly wasn't feeling very _loved _when you left me at the hotel the other morning."

Now it was Faith's turn to frown. "Listen," the brunette stated crisply, "I only did that because I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought I was being the bigger person by letting you go and not making your life any more complicated than it already is."

"Then what changed your mind? Why are you here now, moments before I'm about to get married?" the Chosen One demanded.

"Because I can't stand the thought of not being with you, B," the younger slayer admitted, her hands at her sides.

Buffy turned away from the other girl. "Will you help me finish putting on my dress?" she asked, uncomfortable with the trajectory of their current conversation. She wasn't prepared. She needed more time. "I-I can't get the stays tight enough on my own."

The Boston girl's head dropped slightly, feeling rejected. Obediently however, Faith stepped behind the blonde slayer and began pulling at the white ribbon strands that laced up Buffy's lower back.

After a tense, quiet moment, Buffy finally spoke. "Is it enough?" the blonde asked their dual reflection. The question felt heavy on her tongue.

Faith made a grunting noise, her concentration focused on her hands and Buffy's waist. "Any tighter and you're not gonna be able to breathe," the Boston girl quipped.

"That's not what I mean," Buffy sighed. She pulled away from the brunette slightly. Her body felt physically burdened as if heavy weights held her down. "Is _love _enough for us to work?"

"According to the Beatles, it is," Faith joked with an easy smile.

"I'm serious, Faith," the smaller slayer chastised. "Is it going to be enough in the end?"

Faith stared at Buffy's face in the mirror. The Californian's beautiful features were twisted and confused.

"What more do you want from me, B?" the brunette girl demanded. "Just tell me what you want. I'll give you anything you want," she insisted, putting her hands on the smaller slayer's hips. "I'll _do _anything you want. I just want _you._"

Despite the taller woman's impressive speech, the blonde slayer looked unimpressed…as if she hadn't heard Faith's words…as if her mind was preoccupied with another matter.

"What if I told you I was pregnant?" Buffy offered quietly. She chewed on her lower lip. "What if I told you I'm going to have Preston's baby?" she revealed. "Would you still want me then?"

At the words, the Boston slayer's hands fell away from Buffy's waist. Her mouth fell open, but no reply followed.

Buffy placed her hands on her lower abdomen, and looked at her own reflection in the full-length mirror. The full skirt of her wedding dress effectively concealed if there was indeed a baby-bump beneath her gown.

"I found out when I was in Scotland over New Years," the blonde woman explained in a low voice. "I told Preston, and he immediately proposed."

Reacting to Faith's continued silence, the smaller slayer shook her head miserably. "I guess that's not what you had in mind for us, huh?" Buffy carefully wiped at her eyes, unwilling to smudge her eye make-up.

Faith continued to stare at the blonde's reflection, unable to utter a syllable.

The Chosen One turned on her heels and faced the dark-haired slayer. "Please just go," Buffy sighed, tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

The brunette made an uncomfortable noise, working her tongue and throat, but still was unable to form any words.

"Please, Faith," the California slayer said in a tired voice. "You need to go."

The Boston girl's head dropped and her shoulders heaved. She turned on her heels and exited the way she came in without a second glance, leaving the blonde slayer alone with her thoughts.

Kennedy paced at the front entrance of the church. She wobbled slightly in the high-heels to which she was unaccustomed as she walked back and forth on the worn carpeting. She wiped her damp hands on the front of her satin gown and grimaced when she looked at the clock above the stain-glass doors.

The former boarding-school brat didn't know why she had agreed to be Faith's accomplice in all of this. She didn't know why Faith had to wait until the very moment that Buffy was about to get married, either, for her grand gesture. Couldn't she have had better timing and confronted Buffy the night before? At least that way the newbie slayer wouldn't have had to suffer through all the pre-wedding preparations this morning. And should wouldn't have had to wear this horrible bridesmaid gown, either.

A rattling noise inside her clutch purse alerted the brunette slayer. Kennedy fumbled momentarily with the clasp; she wasn't used to having a girlie purse like this, but Willow had insisted that her normal canvas messenger bag would clash with her outfit. Not that she cared about matching, but her red-haired girlfriend was awfully persuasive. Her phone vibrated inside her clutch, and she pulled it out to see a text message from Faith.

It read only one word – _"Outside."_

Looking up at the clock above ornate doors again, the young slayer released an exasperated sigh. It couldn't get any more last-minute if Faith tried. With a disgruntled sound, Kennedy pushed through the front doors and exited the church.

The slayer clomped outside the front of the church building and her high-heels sunk into the damp sod. After a minute she found Faith nonchalantly sitting on the hood of a car adjacent to the church. .

"What the hell, dude?" Kennedy declared as she made her way over to the casually seated slayer. "Where's your girl?"

Faith nodded toward the brick building behind them. "Inside the church."

"What? Why?" Kennedy asked in a voice slightly higher-pitched than her normal tone.

The Boston girl's face showed no emotion. "She doesn't want me."

"You're crazy. No way could Buffy turn you down." Kennedy shook her head emphatically. "Tell me _exactly _what happened," she ordered as she gingerly sat down on the car hood. Willow would go ballistic if she messed up her dress just moments before the ceremony.

"Not much to say. I told her how I felt about her," Faith shrugged, her features and tone stonewalling her emotions. "Told her I loved her. And she told me she was pregnant."

The younger slayer hopped off of the front of the car. "What?" Kennedy exclaimed in a loud, shrill voice.

A couple, no doubt relatives of Preston's as neither Faith nor Kennedy recognized them, shot the brunette women a condescending look as they entered the church.

"Buffy's not pregnant, you idiot," Kennedy hissed in a much lower, controlled tone.

The Boston slayer's face revealed her confusion. "She's not?" Faith sat up stiffer on the hood of the car. "Well then why would she say she was?" she demanded.

Kennedy threw her hands up in the air. "How the hell should I know? Who knows why General Buffy does half the crap she does. She probably just said it to throw you off or give you some kind of test," she guessed. "And it sounds like you failed the test."

Faith closed her eyes and tilted her head up towards the sun-streaked sky. "God damn it," she complained to the Heavens. "I'm sick of these mother fuckin' tests! Love shouldn't be this hard," she complained bitterly.

Kennedy eyeballed the older woman. "So what are you gonna do now?" she asked.

Abruptly Faith hefted herself off the car hood and stood to her full height. "I'm done, Ken," she announced briskly. "Let Buffy live with her mistakes."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Slayer**

_Suggested Listening: "Airplanes" – B.o.B (ft. Hayley Williams)_

Buffy slowly descended the carpeted stairs that led down to the church basement. One half of the underground area was a kitchen that smelled faintly of mac-n-cheese and glue. The other half was a makeshift schoolroom where catechism classes were held.

During the previous night's wedding rehearsal, the pastor had shown her a way to travel from her changing room to the front of the church so that she was undetected by the groom. Although the slayer didn't believe in superstitions like it being bad luck if the Groom saw the Bride before the wedding, the sublevel would take her to another set of stairs that led to Giles was waiting to walk her down the aisle.

She paused, however, when she discovered Dawn, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, and Giles huddled around a small color television in the church classroom.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked. "Is someone missing their soap operas?" she tried lightly.

The group collectively jumped at the sound of the slayer's voice.

Willow was the first to stand from her school desk. She looked at her blonde friend and chewed on her thumbnail.

"We didn't, uh, think we should bother you with this…" she started, her eyes darting nervously around.

"Out with it," the Chosen One demanded in a clipped tone. "What's the what?"

Buffy looked past her best friend and gazed at the small television. A news anchor filled the screen, reporting on a breaking story. When Buffy read the text at the bottom of the television screen, her chest filled with horror and dread: _Breaking Story: Mass killings at Tower City Center._

"Turn it up," she choked.

"It doesn't appear to be a hostage situation," the newsman reported, "but police are being cautious at this point to avoid further casualties. The motivation of the perpetrators is unknown at this point. What we do know is that the terrorists appear to be wearing some kind of costume masks to hide their identities," he added.

The news anchor droned on about details of the current situation. Police had the architecturally unique shopping mall surrounded. Live footage from the scene revealed the faces and lurking forms of creatures inside the glass and metal-framed building. Those were no Halloween costumes, however. These were no terrorists – they were demons.

"Well, it wouldn't be a Buffy-party if someone wasn't in peril," the blonde mumbled to herself.

"We put out an APB for backup from some of the area cells," Willow announced in a business-like tone. "They should be here in a few hours, and Vi and Rona are already on their way to the Mall."

"Too late and not enough," the Chosen One snapped.

"Buffy," Xander spoke up, trying to be the voice of reason. "You can't just take off. It's your _wedding day_."

"I know," Buffy sighed. She closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples.

Ditching Preston just moments before her wedding did seem like the irresponsible thing to do. But she couldn't just ignore this situation at the mall and hope that everything turned out all right, could she?

Maybe this was the Grand Gesture she'd been looking for all along. Not a Gesture from Faith, however; one from the Fates. She had originally thought her pregnancy had been a sign to settle down with Preston. To give her unborn baby the chance at a stable family life – one that neither she nor Faith had ever personally experienced. Now, however, with this interruption before her wedding, she no longer had the answers.

"All this time…I've been trying to live this normal life," Buffy stated with checked emotion. "Have a wedding…a-a family." She stumbled on the word and shook her head bitterly. "That's not ever going to happen for me, is it?"

Her assembled friends looked uncomfortable at Buffy's disparaging remarks.

Her best friend shook her head sadly. "No, I don't think so, Buff," the witch admitted. "I don't think it's going to happen for any of us."

There was a lump in Buffy's throat and her friends offered her no more words of advice. "Where's Preston?" she asked, choking on the frog in her windpipe.

"He's upstairs at front of the church," Kennedy chipped in helpfully. "I'll go tell him the…uh, bad news."

Buffy rolled her eyes at Kennedy's enthusiasm. "As much as I'd like to take you up on that offer, Kennedy, I'm pretty sure this is something I have to do on my own."

As Buffy made her way to the front of the church, she tried to ignore the barely hushed whispers of the guests sitting in their pews. She could hear the surprise and disapproval in people's hushed voices as she briskly walked down a side aisle to the back room where Preston and his groomsmen were waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The confused organist started to play "Here Comes the Bride," but abruptly stopped when, instead of heading toward the center altar, Buffy took a detour towards the sacristy. It might have made more sense to change out of her wedding gown – it would have created less of a scene at least – but time was precious and lives were at stake.

_How was she going to explain this all to Preston?_ Buffy worried. The truth seemed the most logical solution, but also the most tedious to explain.

The door to the sacristy was closed and, not bothering to knock, Buffy burst into the room.

"Hey!" a groomsman, one of Preston's fraternity brothers from college, shrieked as he finished pulling on his black trousers. "Doesn't anybody knock?" he blustered.

Buffy averted her eyes. "Uh, sorry Bryan," she apologized. "I just, uh, need to see Preston really quick."

Bryan zipped up the front of his pants and dropped his head in embarrassment. "He's just back there," he informed the blustered girl, nodding toward a connecting room.

Buffy nodded her thanks, still unable to look the man in the eyes.

More cautiously, the California slayer opened what she hoped would be the final door to get to Preston. She found her husband-to-be standing before a full-length mirror, adjusting the single white rose on his lapel.

Buffy took a deep, shuddering breath and finally called out her fiancé's name: "Preston?"

Her groom turned on his heels and flashed Buffy a dazzling smile. "Hey, babe!" he said in an excited tone. The man quickly crossed the room to greet his bride. He leaned in and kissed the blonde on the cheek, careful not to smudge her lipstick. "Not that I'm not happy to see you – you look amazing, by the way – but isn't this supposed to be bad luck?"

Buffy chewed on her lip and averted her eyes. "I'm pretty sure we've had all the bad luck we'll ever need."

The dark-haired man frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"Work called," Buffy started with a sigh. "I…"

Preston's face immediately turned stony. "There's not going to be a wedding today, is there?"

"It's hard to explain, Preston," Buffy said, shaking her head in disgust. "It's…it's just something I have to do."

"But _why_? Why is it always _you_, Buffy?" Preston complained. He spoke with his hands, waving them in front of his body. "Why can't they send someone else to fix all these little emergencies? It's our wedding day for Pete sake."

Buffy took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Because I'm the Slayer."

A loud whoop erupted from a corner of the room. Kennedy suddenly appeared, scrambling out from behind a large potted plant. "Amen to that," she cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"Kennedy!" Buffy hissed at the hidden eavesdropper.

Preston's face was crumpled with confusion. "Slayer?"

Buffy sighed. "It's a long story," she said, throwing her hands up. "Giles always did this much better than me."

Kennedy cleared her throat. "Into every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a Chosen One," she started with a cheeky grin. "She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is…" the dark-haired woman paused dramatically, "the Slayer."

Preston eyeballed the two formally-dressed women. "I'm getting punked right now, right?"

"I'm sorry, hun. You're a great guy." Buffy grimaced as soon as the words came out. She didn't want to sound like a cliché. "I'm just not…who you want me to be," she continued. "It's not your fault though – I'm not who _I want _to be, either," she added. "I just have to come to terms that I'll never have a normal life."

"So that's it then?" her fiancé asked solemnly and quietly. "You're just giving up on us?"

Buffy chewed on her bottom lip again. "I-I think so."

Preston's face fell. "But what about…what about the baby?"

Kennedy's eyes grew wide. "So it's true?" she gasped in astonishment. "You're really pregnant with this dude's baby?"

"Who told you?" Buffy challenged shrilly, shocked that anyone knew. She'd worked hard to hide her pregnancy from her family and friends.

The recent slayer shrugged. "Faith told me." Kennedy wrinkled her nose immediately. "I guess that means you and Preston boned, huh? Gross."

"Well it certainly wasn't the Immaculate Conception," Buffy growled. "We're wasting time," she announced. "I have to go."

"Hell no, you're not going on your own," Kennedy objected, straightening her shoulders. "I'm coming with."

"Fine," the blonde stated between gritted teeth. "Just don't get in my way, and don't get killed."

The brunette yawned while she drummed her fingers against the front counter at the Rental Car return. The clerk at the return center clicked away at a keyboard, entering her information.

"Sometime today, eh?" she remarked with a scowl. "I've gotta flight to catch."

The young man behind the counter flashed the beautiful woman a flustered smile. "I'm sorry, Miss," he apologized. "It will just be a few more minutes while I finish checking your rental car back in. If you'd like, I can call a complimentary shuttle that will take you right to your gate."

Faith sniffed. "Nah, s'ok. I don't fly out for another couple of hours. I just don't like waiting in lines, yunno?"

The rental car employee nodded and then returned to his computer screen.

The Boston slayer looked around the small rental car office space inside the Cleveland airport while she waited at the front desk. The room was filled with uncomfortable-looking plastic chairs, and a small television sat in a corner of the room. She glanced briefly at the screen, but noticing it was only a news station, flicked her eyes away.

"All right, Miss Lehane," the man chirped, his eyes still on the computer screen. "It looks like everything checks out. I'll have your receipt for you in just a second." He turned his back and walked over to the printer behind the front desk.

Faith looked back at the television screen and sighed. This wasn't exactly how she'd imagined spending her Saturday. In her version of the day, Buffy ran out of the chapel with her and then the two…well, she hadn't exactly gotten that far in imagining what would happen next, but she was certain that getting hot, naked, and sweaty would have been part of the equation. Maybe that was her whole problem, however – she never really thought through her plans.

A telephone rang in the office and the car rental employee picked it up on the second ring. "Hello? Oh hi, Mike. What's…" the man trailed off and Faith could barely hear the chattering coming from the other end of the receiver. "Right now?" he asked in a confused voice. "What channel?"

The man hastily hung up the phone and wandered out from behind the front desk towards the small television set. He turned the channel to a local news channel and turned up the volume.

"_Police estimate the casualty count at about a dozen or so, but no word on how high the death count is right now. Eyewitnesses who escaped Tower City Center are telling us that about half a dozen large, masked men suddenly, and without warning, started to shoot."_

"God damn it," Faith cursed bitterly when the news cameras panned the glass-encased building and she saw the bumpy, gnarled, demonic faces of the gunmen. "I never can just leave, can I?" she complained aloud. "Always some demon ruining my grand exit."

"I'm sorry?" The car rental worker looked confused by the dark-haired girl's odd vocalization.

Faith grimaced. "I need those keys back," the brunette stated, holding out her hand, palm upwards. "It looks like I'm gonna need the car for at least another day."

Faith sped her rental car down the narrow city streets of Cleveland towards Tower City Center. Luckily her vehicle had a built-in GPS system so she didn't have to waste time asking for directions. _"Uh, excuse me. Can you point me in the direction of the demon massacre?"_

Police cars and other law enforcement vehicles formed a wide barricade around the shopping center's perimeter, so the Boston girl had to park a few blocks away. She quickly, but not so fast as to garner anyone's attention, made her way towards the Mall. As she suspected, by-standers gathered around the police blockade, all nosily trying to get a view of the violence.

Circumventing the growing masses of onlookers, Faith slipped around to a service entrance. The Cleveland police were so busy trying to keep back the throngs of nosy townsfolk, she was able to move undetected. Finding a fire-escape door that some chain-smoker had probably left propped open, Faith looked both ways and then entered the shopping center.

The Boston-born slayer wandered cautiously through a series of illuminated hallways, and a smile crept onto her face. The scenario vaguely reminded her of a video game or movie - Zombies in the mall. Only if you got killed here, there wasn't a 'Reset' button.

When she watched movies like that – with zombies in the Mall – the dark slayer always envied the main characters. Not that she _wanted _to avert a zombie apocalypse, but if you were stuck in an end-of-the-world scenario, the Mall seemed like the perfect place to wait it out. Auntie May pretzels, Orange Julius slushies, and all the weapons one could ever want.

Faith made her way up a stairway to the second level of the shopping mall. She needed to find some kind of weapon before a demon found her. Normally when she traveled to a different city, especially a city on a Hellmouth, she always brought along some kind of a weapon. Normally she took the bus or the train, too. She'd been in such a rush to get to Cleveland before Buffy's wedding, however, she'd booked the first connecting flights between Boston and the Midwestern city. It seemed airlines were awfully picky about carry-on weapons.

The sound of a scuffle alerted the Boston girl and she quickly made her way toward the violent noises. When she turned a corner, she was greeted with the sight of Rona and Vi fighting one of the red-skinned demons. Rona was slumped against a wall, however, holding onto one of her forearms while Vi struggled to dodge the demon's attack. For such a large, bulky demon, it was amazingly agile.

Acting on instinct, Faith hastened her pace toward the two young slayers. She grabbed onto a fiberglass, 4-foot lollipop and retched it from an Easter Holiday display. Launching into the fight unannounced, Faith made quick work of the assaulting demon. She jabbed the stick-end of the lollipop at the demon's face and pierced one of its yellow, beady eyes. Faith nearly dry-heaved at the cracking noise that resulted when she plunged the fiberglass spear deeper into the monster's cranium. After a little more shoving and wiggling, the demon's flailing arms went still and it crumpled to the ground. So much for making the most of the Mall's available weaponry.

"I can honestly say that's the first time I've killed anything with candy," the Boston girl quipped as she stared down at the now-dead demon.

Faith flicked her glance over at Vi and Rona. The red-haired slayer was gingerly helping the other woman off the ground. "You two all right?" the Boston girl asked.

Rona grit her teeth together and continued to hold onto her arm. "We could have handled it on our own," she grunted.

Ignoring the younger slayer's lack of appreciation, Faith nodded at Rona's arm. "Is that the one you hurt before?"

The dread-locked slayer swallowed down her pain. "It'll be fine," she said again.

Vi spoke up, breaking the tension that had engulfed the other two slayers. "We should start getting the shoppers out of here," she noted helpfully.

"How many demons are left?" Faith asked.

Rona kicked at the dead demon who had probably broken her arm. "Can't be that many left," she remarked. "We already killed three. And this one makes four."

A jubilant cheer interrupted the three slayers' conversation.

"Burn, baby, burn!" came a familiar voice.

Faith looked in the direction of the feminine voice. In front of a Lady Footlocker was Kennedy, still in her bridesmaid dress, with a flame-thrower strapped onto her back.

"_Dang," _Faith laughed to herself._ "Where can I get one of those?"_

The elder brunette watched as Kennedy killed another demon with the fire-spewing weapon. The creature was quickly swallowed in a wall of flames. It flailed and ran around for a few moments before its chard body fell to the ground.

"Start rounding up the shoppers and get them out of here," Faith instructed the younger slayers. "Kennedy and I will take care of the rest of the demons."

Faith left Vi and Rona to help the mall-goers and jogged over to the former boarding-school brat. "Nice work, small one," she greeted when she reached Kennedy's side.

"Faith!" Kennedy exclaimed when she saw the leather-clad slayer. She dropped the bulky flame-thrower on the ground. "You're here! Why?"

The Boston girl shrugged. "Saw the story on the news before I got on my flight," she explained. "Figured I couldn't let ya have _all _the fun."

"Uh huh," the younger woman stated distractedly.

Faith couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Kennedy furiously scrubbing at a scorch mark on the bodice of her dress. "God, Willow's gonna kill me," she mumbled miserably to herself.

"Didn't expect to run into you here," Faith noted. "Buffy didn't freak out that one of her bridesmaids ditched her wedding?" the formerly rogue slayer asked with a bitter laugh.

Kennedy stopped her futile rubbing and her eyes grew wide. "You haven't seen her yet?"

The Boston girl furrowed her eyebrows. "Who? Buffy? No," she said, shaking her head, "not since at the church."

"Dude, she's _here_," Kennedy announced. "The wedding is _off_."

Just as the words left the younger slayer's mouth, Faith spotted a blonde girl in a wedding dress fighting two demons across the center courtyard. "Fuck me," she muttered under her breath.

"Later, Ken," the dark-slayer called as she launched herself down the escalator toward the ground floor.

As Faith came upon the violent scene, she could see that the blonde slayer had abandoned her strappy white stilettos and her wedding veil, but she fought against the bulky monsters in the rest of her wedding paraphernalia. Buffy was handling the two demons on her own, but two slayers are always better than one.

Faith stopped short of the battle and perched herself on the edge an oversized potted plant. "Hey, B. Need some help?" the Boston girl offered with a wide grin.

The blonde bride didn't look surprised to see the younger slayer. She probably had felt her presence as soon as she'd entered the shopping mall. "Thanks for the offer, _F_," she spat out angrily, "but I can handle these two all on my own."

As if emphasizing her point, the ax she was wielding struck one of the monsters in the neck area. The creature was nearly decapitated by the horizontal blow. Its head lopped backwards, but remained connected to the rest of its body by a thin piece of scaly flesh. Blood spurted out of its arteries like a fountain; the creature's body soon succumbed to its injuries and toppled to the ground.

"I can see that," Faith noted. "But what about the baby? Shouldn't you be takin' it easy since you're With Child?" the Boston girl pressed. Would Buffy continue this charade, she wondered, if she really wasn't pregnant?

"Don't make a big deal out of it," Buffy huffed as she swung the fireman's ax at the last advancing demon. The blow missed, but knocked the monster temporarily off-balance. "Slayers have had babies before. Besides, it's still early," the blonde said, wiping away at the sweat that had formed on her forehead. "I'm not going to hurt it."

"You're not exactly wearing combat clothes," the Boston girl pointed out.

The golden-haired girl gave her former enemy and lover a cheeky smile. "You'd be surprised how many times I've had to stop the End of the World in formal wear."

_I may be dead, but I'm still pretty._

The two women smiled at each other as if all of the afternoon's previous drama had been forgotten. In that moment, neither woman seemed to remember that one demon still remained.

"Buffy!" Faith yelled out…too late.

The Boston slayer could see the pain and surprise in the blonde's hazel-green eyes. A large patch of crimson red immediately formed when the remaining demon pulled a hunting knife out of the Chosen One's abdomen.

Faith let loose a primal scream. The final monster looked surprised that a noise such as that could have come out of a human girl. Kicking a foot up high, the dark-haired slayer connected with the demon's still-outstretched arm. The weapon fell, clattering to the marble-tiled floor.

Eschewing the knife that had just sliced open her lover, Faith launched herself at the red, scaly demon. Its tough skin was probably too thick to be penetrated by only a hunting knife anyway. The creature blocked the dark-haired slayer's flying fists and feet and deftly knocked her to the ground.

Momentarily breathless, Faith scanned the floor from her position to find a weapon. Next to Buffy's fallen figure was her ax. The Boston girl reached out and grabbed onto the wooden handle of the weapon. In one quick movement, she agilely flipped off the ground and landed back on her feet.

The demon looked for its own discarded weapon, but Faith kicked the oversized knife across the marble floor. Weaponless, the creature futilely attempted to block the brunette's second-series of attacks. She was not to be denied her victory this time, however.

With another yell, Faith swung the ax over her shoulder as if chopping wood. The weapon connected with the demon's torso, slicing away at one arm. The creature squirmed and tried again to deflect another attack, but ended up losing its second arm as well. With one final chop, the Boston girl swung horizontally. This time the weapon struck at the demon's waist and bifurcated the monster.

The Boston girl tossed the ax to the side and fell to her knees next to Buffy's body. She turned the girl onto her back and choked out a sob when she saw the size of the red stain covering Buffy's stomach.

Kennedy rushed over to Faith's side. "What happened?" she asked in a breathless voice. She could only see that Buffy was laying on the ground with Faith crouched over her body.

"Faith!" Kennedy said in a louder voice. "What happened?"

The Boston girl finally looked up from her fallen partner. "Do you have a phone?"

"Yeah, I do," Kennedy affirmed, her eyes glued to Buffy's figure. "In my…fuck…my purse is in the car."

Faith stood up and Kennedy was afforded an unobstructed view of Buffy and the severity of her wound.

"I-I can go get it," the younger slayer stuttered. The red stain on Buffy's dress was getting larger with every second she lay on the ground.

"God damn it," the Boston girl cursed. "There's not enough time. She's gonna bleed out."

Faith bent at the waist and scooped Buffy's unconscious form into her arms. The golden-haired slayer's head lolled forward and rested against Faith's shoulder.

"What are you going to do?" Kennedy asked, her dark eyes wide. She felt paralyzed with indecision.

The Boston girl bent her head and grit her back teeth. "Try to save Buffy's life."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Here Comes the Bride**

"Don't die. Don't die."

Faith looked down at Buffy's unconscious form in her arms; the blonde's head bobbed slightly every time the jogging slayer's feet hit the ground. "Shit, don't die."

The scene outside of the City Center was chaotic. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars arrived and left the scene in frantic ebbs and flows. Camera crews and on-sight reporters jostled each other for prime footage, and the hordes of by-standers had nearly tripled since Faith had first arrived on scene.

It looked as though Vi and Rona had successfully helped numerous shoppers flee the mall and find the medical attention they required. The only problem was that they were monopolizing the attention of the rescue workers when Buffy was slipping away. With the woman she loved bleeding-out in her arms, still in the wedding dress she had planned on wearing in order to marry another person that same day, the Boston girl had never felt so utterly helpless.

"Hey! Somebody!" Faith yelled out when she spotted two EMTs taking a break from the carnage. "Need some help over here," she hollered, gingerly shifting her hold on the smaller slayer.

"Shit," one of the medical staffers cursed, throwing his half-spent cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his work boots. The man jogged over to the two slayers. "What happened?" he asked, breathing heavily through his mouth.

Faith swallowed hard. "She got stabbed in the stomach by one of those guys," she vaguely revealed. "She's losing a lot of blood."

The smaller of the two men pushed an emergency cart up to the group, and Faith carefully set Buffy on top of the white mattress. "Fuck," the second man mumbled when he saw the woman's wound and her clothing. "I know some chicks really love shopping, but don't tell me she was gettin' married in the mall?"

"Shut it, Bernie," the older-looking of the two men snapped. His eyes raked over Buffy's body, quickly surveying the damage. "Call it in so they'll be ready for us at the hospital. Caucasian woman. About thirty. Serious stab wound to the abdomen."

Faith continued to stare, feeling suddenly paralyzed now that the original rush of adrenaline was passing.

"You family or something?" the second man asked.

Faith shook her head slowly. "No, not family." The words felt funny in her mouth. "Just a friend," the dark-haired girl said.

"We'll take it from here," the first man stated grimly as they began to wheel Buffy to the emergency transport vehicle. "Don't worry, miss," he called out. "You did everything for her you could."

The Boston girl turned her head away from the EMTs and wiped at her eyes. The man's words made her feel physically ill. She certainly hadn't done anything to help Buffy. In fact, she was the reason Buffy had been stabbed. If only she hadn't reacted so poorly when Buffy told her she was pregnant, the blonde wouldn't have been fighting these demons on her own.

"Wait!" Faith called out. She jogged over to the ambulance as the two men hefted Buffy's body into the back of the emergency truck.

"What is it?" the smaller of the two men asked impatiently. His partner started to hook Buffy up to a variety of machines in the back of the vehicle. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"Uh, yeah," she said, blinking a few times. "She's…she's pregnant."

The waiting room at the University Hospital was surprisingly empty, despite the recent happenings at the Tower Center. Giles, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, and Dawn, all still in their wedding outfits, sat in one corner of the room, quietly comforting each other. Faith paced the length of the room, the only one not able to remain seated.

When a man blustered into the room, everyone looked up, hopeful that it would be the emergency room doctor with news of Buffy's condition.

"Who called you?" Faith blurted out, flicking a glance at Buffy's friends, trying to flesh out the culprit.

"The Hospital," Preston, still in his tuxedo, revealed almost apologetically. "I'm listed as her emergency contact."

"Whatever." Faith turned away and continued pacing in the hospital waiting room.

"Have the doctors said anything?" the man asked, turning away from the snarling girl.

Giles shook his head. "Not much, I'm afraid." The Englishman removed his glasses and wiped them on the shirt-tales of his white dress shirt. "She's in surgery right now. They're trying to stem the internal bleeding she suffered from the stab wound."

"The doctor said he'd come out here as soon as they had any news though," Dawn added helpfully.

The co-ed wrung her hands together and dropped her head. Willow rubbed her hand in the small of Dawn's back, hoping to comfort the teen girl who had been through so much.

Preston glanced around at all of Buffy's friends and family gathered in the small waiting room. "So you all knew about this? About Buffy being a-a Slayer?"

"Don't beat yourself up about it, guy," Xander spoke up. "I'm sure she was just trying to protect you. That's what she does, after all – protect people."

Preston blinked. "I'm sorry. Who are you again?"

"I'm Xander," the dark-haired man frowned. "Her best friend."

Preston looked confused. "I thought Willow was her best friend," he said, pointing at the red-headed witch.

The one-eyed man bristled. "Well, I'm her best friend, too."

The groom coughed uncomfortably. "So what _really _happened?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject. "The hospital just told me she'd been injured at the City Center robbery."

Willow rubbed at her temples. "They weren't robbers. They were demons. Buffy and Kennedy went to kill them, but she got stabbed."

Preston flicked his glance at Kennedy, who still wore her mint-green formal wear. "So you're the one who saved her?"

The brunette snorted and leaned back on the hospital couch. "Wish I could take all the credit. That was Faith's doing," she commented, pointing at the leather-and-demin clad woman.

Preston glanced into the far corner of the room at Faith and his eyebrows furrowed even further together. The situation was getting more and more convoluted. "The stripper saved her?" he asked incredulously.

A bubble of laughter burst from Xander's throat. "You think Faith is a stripper?" he guffawed.

"Well, she does dress like one half the time," Willow chirped in, trying to stick up for the man who had just been left at the altar.

Preston walked toward the dark-haired girl who had remained silent and solemn since he had arrived. He stuck his hand out. "So I guess I should be thanking_ you_ instead," he said shakily. The rough-edged girl made him wildly uncomfortable, but he didn't know why.

Faith looked up from the ground at the taller man's outstretched hand. "Don't thank me just yet," she mumbled. Ignoring Preston's gesture, she turned away from the man and took a seat in an opposite corner, isolating herself from the Scoobies.

A few hours later, a doctor walked in and the room collectively held its breath. He held a light green scrub cap in his hands and cleared his throat. "Where's the group here for Buffy Summers?" he asked the room.

Willow waved her hand. "We're over here."

The doctor smiled earnestly and walked over to the group. "She's out of surgery," he started. "We were able to suture the internal bleeding, and she's doing remarkably well," he informed the anxious crowd. "She's in recovery right now. Obviously there was a lot of blood loss in the incident, so we've got her hooked up for a transfusion."

"When can we see her?" Dawn bravely asked.

"Well, she's just coming out of the anesthetic from surgery," the surgeon informed her. "I'm going off-duty right now, but I'll have someone alert you when she's awake and you're free to see her. I just want to gently remind you that her body's been through a bit of a shock," he noted, "so please keep your initial visit brief. We're obviously going to keep her overnight, but you can all come back and see her again in the morning."

Faith bit her tongue. She was relieved that Buffy was going to pull through, but her mind was laden with another concern. She wanted to ask the doctor about the baby's condition, but she didn't think it was her place to ask. Preston was the father of the kid, after all. If he wasn't concerned, then why in the world should she be?

But before she could second-guess herself and ask the question that lay heavily on her mind, the doctor excused himself and walked away.

A nurse in blue scrubs entered the waiting room a few hours later. "Which one of you is Preston?" she asked, looking up from a clipboard.

The tuxedo'd man stood up sharply. "That's me," he said, tugging at the collar of his stiff dress shirt.

The hospital staffer nodded. "Buffy's awake, and she'd like to see you first," she informed the anxious group.

Preston briskly followed the nurse around a corner and out of sight.

The remaining Scoobies began to stir and mumble amongst themselves. It had been a long day between the almost-wedding and the long, anxious hours in the hospital room.

"Why does she want to see _him _first?" Dawn grumbled miserably to herself. "I'm her sister, after all."

Noticing the dark-haired slayer's dour demeanor, Kennedy stood from her seat next to Willow and sat down next to Faith. She patted the Boston girl on the knee. "I'm sure it doesn't mean anything," she murmured to her friend. "He's the kid's dad, right? She must just figure she owes him this."

Faith unclenched her jaw and released a shaky breath. "Yeah, maybe you're right," she breathed. It was far too easy to imagine Buffy and her beau reconciling in the hospital room while she waited on the sidelines, however.

After a few minutes, the nurse reappeared. "Hi again, folks," she said, clearing his throat. "This is kind of unusual," the woman remarked, chuckling. "I've never had a patient request her family go in one at a time, but I suppose we can allow it since she's been such a trooper. Next she'd like to see Faith."

At the sound of her name, the Boston girl's heart leapt inside her chest. She stood up on shaky legs and immediately could feel the penetrating eyes of Buffy's friends and family on her. She knew they were all wondering the same thing. Preston was understandable, but why would Buffy want to see Faith of all people next?

Fighting the urge to lash out from her uncomfortableness, Faith ignored the glares of Willow and Dawn and instead obediently followed the nurse out of the waiting room and down a long corridor. The nurse stopped just before Buffy's room and ushered the brunette woman inside.

Inside the single room, the blonde slayer lay reclined in a large hospital bed. She was hooked up to a number of machines that monitored her vital statistics. An IV jutted out of her right arm, leading up to a cluster of dark-crimson blood bags. Buffy's skin was unusually pale and dark circles hung below her hazel-green eyes. But even though she looked half-dead, Faith still thought her sister-Slayer looked beautiful.

Faith bristled at the sound of the door being closed behind her. She let out a deep breath and took a tentative step towards Buffy's hospital bed.

"Hey, B," she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

The Californian's eyes turned to the familiar voice. "Hey," she responded, giving the Boston slayer an unbalanced smile.

"Where's Preston?" Faith asked quietly. She looked around the room and noticed, for the first time, that the blonde woman's fiancé was nowhere to be seen.

Buffy patted at her bedside and the dark-haired girl gingerly took a seat at the edge of the narrow bed.

"I sent him home," Buffy answered. "It's not like his being here is going to help me heal any faster," she pointed out. "Besides," she said with a sigh, "seeing him just makes me feel guilty."

"You had us all scared," the Boston slayer observed, looking down at her boots. "Me especially."

"Well, you shouldn't have worried," the blonde responded with a quick smile. "I had no intension of dying today."

Faith coughed uncomfortably, dislodging the lump in her throat. "And- and the baby?" she asked, afraid of the answer. Her voice seemed to choke on the words.

Faith didn't know _what _she wanted to hear. On one hand, albeit selfishly, it made her ill to think of Buffy impregnated with Preston's spawn. But if Buffy had made the decision to go through with the pregnancy, Faith's heart ached at the thought of her lover losing her unborn child. It might turn into Buffy's breaking point – her last gasp at Normality crushed – from which she could never recover.

Buffy took a shuddering deep breath. "The baby is fine," she revealed. She shook her head and clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I don't know how…but it is."

"The kid's half-Summers, that's how," the Boston girl remarked easily. "It's got good no-dying genes." She didn't want to think about the other half of the baby's genes, however.

Buffy couldn't help the smirk that appeared on her face. Even though she had awaken in a hospital, the most unpleasant place she could imagine, Faith could still manage to pull a chuckle from her.

"How long are they gonna keep you here?" Faith asked.

"Well," Buffy drawled, "my doctor said I have to stay here for another week at least, just to monitor the baby's health. I'm hoping with my slayer healing, I can knock that prognosis in half and be home by Wednesday."

Faith raised an eyebrow at the bed-ridden woman. "What's the big rush to get outta here?" she asked. "Got a big date or something?"

Buffy gave the brunette an odd look. "No, weirdo," she said, shaking her head. "Date nights are Fridays, remember?"

Now it was the Boston girl's turn to chuckle. "Yeah," she said softly. "I remember." Faith interlaced her fingers with one of Buffy's hands. The Californian's skin felt cold.

"Kennedy told me you canceled the wedding," Faith abruptly observed, looking at their enjoined hands. Even though Buffy's skin was unnervingly chilly, their hands just _felt right _together.

"There kind of was a demon massacre going on at the Mall in case you missed that," Buffy quipped.

Faith snorted. "You know what I mean," she protested. "You could have just postponed it. Why did you _cancel_ the wedding?"

Buffy leaned back onto her hospital pillows and sighed. She continued to hold onto Faith's hand, however. "This is what I get for gaining consciousness so quickly," she complained. "All the tough questions."

"I'm serious, B."

"So am I!" Buffy responded with a violent jerk.

The blonde started to cough and Faith's body went rigid. She was going to kill her if she kept provoking her like this. Buffy was too fragile in her current state for all the tough conversations she wanted to have.

The Boston girl jumped up and headed for the door when the coughing continued to spasm through Buffy's vulnerable figure. "I'll get a doctor," she said hurriedly.

Buffy held up a hand and paused the Boston woman's retreat.

"I-I'm okay," Buffy gasped, catching her breath. "Just…had a tickle in my throat."

"Do you want me to go?" the raven-haired slayer asked, still hovering near the door.

"No. Don't leave just yet," the Californian implored. "Will you…will you lay with me?"

The dark-haired girl wordlessly nodded and walked away from the door. Faith climbed back onto the bed, careful not to pinch or squish any of the various wires and tubes that connected to the smaller woman. She settled down next to Buffy, the two women sharing the overstuffed pillows at the head of the bed. They continued to lay next to each other in silence, hands enjoyed, staring at the ceiling, their minds filling with multiple unspoken conversations.

"I gave up on being Normal," Buffy said suddenly. "You were right, Faith. I'm a Slayer, and I can never have a normal life. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Faith sat up in bed and looked at the girl. "Not really."

"Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble." Buffy scowled.

"Let's not do this anymore, okay?"

"What?" Buffy asked, afraid of the other girl's answer. Was Faith running away, again?

"Fight."

Buffy breathed out deeply. "Oh. Okay."

"I'm sorry," Faith apologized.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For getting you hurt."

Buffy shook her head. "Faith, it's not your fault I got stabbed. It's not like you were the one who shoved a knife into my gut."

Faith winced at the words. It was undeniable to what earlier event Buffy was referring.

"But it _is _partly my fault," the brunette insisted. "If I had handled your baby news better, we wouldn't be here. I shouldn't have run out like that. I mean, I think it's cool that you're, uh, gonna have a baby," she said lamely.

Faith frowned. The words had sounded far more convincing and intelligent when she'd rehearsed them in her head.

"I appreciate that," the blonde said. "But I shouldn't have surprised you like that. I can't be mad at you for the way you reacted. And I don't want you to be mad at Preston, either. He's really a decent guy," she countered. "When he proposed…he was just trying to do the 'right' thing."

"I still can't believe you were going to marry him just for the chance to feel normal though, B," Faith sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

Buffy frowned. "I know you can't understand; you_ love _being a Slayer. For me though…trying to feel normal…it's important to me."

"Listen, B," Faith started. "You and I might not be _Normal_, but at least we can be happy together. Well, at least on my part I know I'm happier with you than when I'm not," the brunette clarified, "even if I do wanna strangle you half the time. That's gotta be worth _something_, right?"

Buffy gave the other girl a lopsided smile. "I suppose so."

"So what are you gonna do now?"

"God. I don't know." The blonde tugged at her hair in frustration. "Everything is just happening so fast," she complained. "I need some time."

Buffy sucked in a sharp breath and looked warily at the woman lying beside her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe I just need to be on my own for a little bit. Figure out this baby business. Get my head on right. I need to do what's best now for both me and my baby." She laid her free hand on the hospital sheet where it blanketed her abdomen.

Faith looked away from the telling swell of Buffy's stomach and stared straight ahead. She nodded gravely. "I understand," she choked out.

Buffy worried her bottom lip and squeezed the dark-haired woman's hand in her own. "I-I do love you, Faith," she said quietly.

The Boston girl closed her eyes. "But you're not sure if it's enough."

It wasn't a question or an accusation. Just a fact.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Date Night**

_Suggested Listening: "I Run to You" – Lady Antebellum_

It was Friday Night. Date Night. But instead of spending the evening in Cleveland, the dark-haired slayer was at her apartment in Boston.

After Buffy had asked for some time to get her life in order before she made any more decisions about her future, Faith went back to Boston. Buffy's recovery had been slow, and the doctors had insisted she stay in the hospital. If it weren't for the baby growing inside her stomach, the blonde would have ignored their urging and left as soon as she regained consciousness. But with the responsibility of another person's life hanging in the balance, she heeded her physicians' warnings.

Faith had visited Buffy a few times in the hospital, but the blonde pointed out that she _literally _needed space from the Boston girl to make up her mind. With Faith constantly around, it was hard for the Chosen One to see if she truly was better off on her own. So Faith left. She didn't want to, but she did because it was the right thing to do.

The Boston woman opened the lid to her laptop, and with a small whirling noise, the machine turned on. Her instant message program immediately signed on, and she waited as her online friends list loaded. Her heart dropped in her stomach, however, when she didn't see Buffy's screen name online.

Ever since she'd left Cleveland a few days ago, she and the California slayer had religiously chatted online. Nothing serious – just some innocent flirting – but it was reassuring to the brunette woman nonetheless that Buffy would spend her evenings with her. Faith had pointed out that perhaps they should include an Internet blackout if Buffy _really _wanted some time to herself, but the blonde slayer had dismissed the idea.

Faith logged onto her email, but frowned when she found no message from the elder woman explaining her absence. A hundred scenarios flashed through the brunette slayer's mind: Buffy had dropped her laptop and it was broken. There was a complication with the baby, and she was in too much pain to come online. Preston had shown up and the two were reconciling over hospital Jello and mashed potatoes.

Just as she was about to go offline, resigned that Buffy had found something better to do that Friday night, her laptop speakers announced that someone had just come online – it was Buffy.

Faith's fingers flew across the laptop keyboard.

**GoSox03: **_You're late._

**Buf_E_99: **_Hello to you, too. _

**GoSox03: **_Sorry, was just worried you'd bailed._

**Buf_E_99: **_And miss our date night? Never._

**GoSox03: **_What kept you?_

Faith knew she sounded like a nagging wife, but she knew Buffy wouldn't mind. On the contrary, the Boston girl knew for a fact that the elder slayer found her sometimes-jealousy endearing.

**Buf_E_99: **_The doctor check-up took longer than usual. Couldn't come online until he'd left._

**GoSox03: **_How's the little gremlin doing? Everything still okay?_

Buffy wanted to be surprised about the baby's sex, so they'd gotten used to referring to the unborn fetus in gender-neutral terms. Faith, however, was a fan of using monster terminology to refer to Buffy's baby.

**Buf_E_99: **_It's like the size of a mango now – it's amazing how fast it's growing. I hope there wasn't like demon fertilizer on that knife or something._

**GoSox03: **_Too bad you don't have your webcam set up. I'd love to see you._

**Buf_E_99: **_I'm not feeling too sexy right now._

**GoSox03: **_You'd look good in a snowsuit, B._

**Buf_E_99: **_Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm feeling more like Santa Claus with this belly though._

Faith couldn't help but laugh. She had wondered how Buffy would respond to her growing abdomen. Forget that there was another being maturing inside of her, the blonde had always been body conscious.

**GoSox03: **_Whatever, B. You're barely showing. In a couple of months you'll probably be like one of those pregnant ladies who just look like they have a basketball hiding under their t-shirt._

**Buf_E_99: **_God, thanks for the visual. Now I have something to look forward to._

**GoSox03: **_I know it's just been a couple of days since I left…but…I miss you._

The brunette held her breath, waiting for Buffy's response. She didn't want to come across too strongly, knowing that she was putting herself out there to potentially get hurt again, but in conversations over the past few days, the two had promised to be honest with each other. And the Boston slayer honestly missed her sister-Slayer.

But before she could get a reaction from Buffy, there was a sharp knock at her apartment door.

**GoSox03: **_Hold up, B. Someone's at the front door._

**Buf_E_99: **_Pizza tonight again, Faith? You should really eat healthier. Pretty soon people won't be able to tell which one of us is the pregnant slayer._

**GoSox03: **_Very funny. No, I didn't order anything. _

**Buf_E_99: **_Then who is it? _

The knocking continued, and Faith hazarded a glance at the front door. Whoever it was, it had better be important to be interrupting her Buffy-time.

**GoSox03: **_I don't know, woman. Don't nag. Brb._

Faith chuckled as she pushed herself away from the kitchen table and walked to the front door of her apartment. Falling into an easy banter online with the elder slayer had been effortless since she'd returned to Boston. The brunette girl had originally worried that with Buffy's recent quest to sort out her life, she might emotionally distance herself. Instead, Faith felt a seedling of hope that once Buffy got over herself, the two might eventually get together.

Not bothering to look through the peephole, Faith unlocked the deadbolt and swung the door wide open. The dark-haired girl nearly gasped when she saw who was waiting just outside of her apartment door.

Buffy.

Faith stood dumbstruck. "You're here," she said in amazement.

The blonde smiled sheepishly and waved a black, glossy phone in front of her. "Dawn thought I should get acquainted with the 21st century, so she got this Smart phone for me. I can check my email, and do IM chat, and download things. Well, the phone can do it," she babbled nervously in the hallway, "but I'm still not sure how to do any of that. I just had Dawn show me enough so I could get here without you knowing."

Faith shook her head as if clearing cobwebs from her mind. "You're here," she repeated. "In Boston."

"Yes, I'm here." Buffy stuck out her bottom lip. "Shouldn't someone be kissing someone right now?"

"Shouldn't you be back in Cleveland healing up?" the Boston girl countered, blinking a few times.

Faith couldn't believe her eyes. They'd just been talking online a few seconds ago; she had mentally pictured the other woman reclining in her hospital bed with a laptop in front of her. Never had she pictured Buffy chatting on her cell phone and making her way to her front door.

"Willow's been helping me get stronger," Buffy explained, still hovering in the hallway. "A few years ago a demon nearly skinned her alive; I gave her some of my energy to help her regain her strength. So now she returned the favor and helped me get back on my feet."

Buffy anxiously played with her phone. She didn't know what to think of Faith's non-reaction and it made her nervous – and when she was nervous, she started to babble. "I think she sucked some energy out of Kennedy to give to me," she continued, "but I wasn't gonna say no. I just wanted to get out of that hospital."

"I'm sure there's a perverted three-sum joke in there somewhere," Faith noted, licking her dry lips, "but I'm still too rattled by you being here to figure it out."

"Can you at least pull it together long enough to invite me in?" Buffy asked, twisting her lips into a lop-sided smile.

The brunette girl nodded dumbly and took a few steps backwards, allowing the elder slayer to walk in. Faith closed the door as Buffy strode into the small entranceway.

The California-native made small-talk about the size and décor of Faith's apartment as she shrugged out of her jean jacket. She hadn't been able to button the fastens due to her growing abdomen. Under her coat, the blonde wore yoga pants and a fitted t-shirt.

Faith instinctively took Buffy's coat and hung it up in the small closet in the foyer. Only when she finished hanging up the jacket did she get a good look at the golden-haired girl.

"Damn, girl!" the Boston girl exclaimed, getting an eyeful of Buffy's swollen stomach. "Were you always that big?"

Buffy looked confused for a moment, but then dropped her eyes to look down at her abdomen. She placed her hands on the small swell as if cradling a bowling ball. "I don't know what happened," she admitted. "It just kinda…blew up." The blonde looked up again, her hazel-green eyes full of worry. "Do I look horrible?"

Faith adamantly shook her head. "No, no," she insisted. "You look great like always. I'm sorry," she apologized in a rush, "I just wasn't expecting to see that."

"The doctors were all very impressed," Buffy said, a small smile on her face. "This small one is quite the overachiever, it seems."

The brunette took a tentative step toward the blonde girl, one hand slightly stretched out. "Can I…can I touch it?"

Buffy snickered. "Yeah, I guess so," she agreed. "I don't know what the big deal is. It's just a stomach, after all."

Faith slid her hand over the soft cotton of Buffy's form-fitting top. She remained silent for a moment as she felt the tautness of the skin beneath her touch. She didn't know what to expect. The brunette had never touched a pregnant woman's stomach before.

"Is this normal, B?" she asked slowly. "I mean, is the baby healthy and all that?"

Buffy sighed. "According to the doctors, yes. Willow and Giles are doing some research though. Apparently when Cordelia was pregnant with some demon spawn she had a super quick pregnancy. But it was like, overnight quick. They think this might have something to do with Willow's healing or the fact that I'm a Slayer," she revealed. "Giles is trying to find something in the Watcher Diaries about Nikki Wood's pregnancy to find s'more clues."

"And with all of this going on, you still thought it was a good idea to travel to Boston?" Faith asked incredulously.

"I don't need a lecture from you, Faith," the blonde complained. "I'm a big girl." Buffy walked away from the younger slayer until she came to the living room, which consisted of a futon in front of a small, flat-screen television.

"Yeah, and growing bigger by the minute," the Boston girl called after the retreating figure.

Scowling at herself and her attitude, Faith followed the smaller woman deeper into the apartment. She watched as Buffy gingerly sat down on the futon, as if expecting the furniture to break under her weight.

"I know I probably should have stayed in Cleveland," the blonde stated. She patted the space next to her, motioning for the younger slayer to sit down.

Faith raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure my poor futon can handle all that weight," she joked.

The golden-haired slayer frowned deeply. "Thanks," she grumbled.

The Boston girl hastily sat down, and the futon made a slight squeaking noise. "I'm totally kidding, B," she rushed out. "I've never known anyone who was pregnant before," she explained. "I don't know what the protocol is."

"Well for starters," the blonde pointed out, "you should never call a girl fat, even if she's as big as a house."

"Point duly taken," Faith quipped as she pretended to scribble down notes on an imaginary pad of paper.

"Come back to Cleveland with me," Buffy blurted out.

The Boston girl opened her mouth to respond.

"Don't say no," Buffy interrupted. She grabbed onto Faith's hands with her own. "We can transfer someone else to Boston to take care of the Slayer cell – Vi or Rona or both of them could go. Or Kennedy!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I'm sure she'd _love_ to be in charge of the East Coast. She'd love to be in charge of _anything_."

"Is that a real offer or are you just trying to get in my pants?"

"You're crude," Buffy made a face.

"You love it," Faith smiled, showing off her dimples.

"There are things I love about you, yes," Buffy readily admitted. "I'm not so sure you being a dirty old man is one of them."

"Oh yeah?" Faith smirked. "So what _do _you love about me?"

Buffy furrowed her eyebrows together. "You really want a list?"

"Listen, B. You showing up here unannounced is an awfully nice gesture," Faith started, "but I'm not gonna ditch my life here and follow you back to the Mistake by the Lake just to find out it's your pregnant hormones doin' the asking."

"This is embarrassing," the elder slayer complained.

Faith pursed her lips together and lifted her eyebrows. "Well? I'm waiting…"

The Californian released a deep, disgruntled sigh. "Fine, I, uh…I love your gusto for life."

"Gusto? I guess that's a start," the brunette smirked. "Keep going."

Buffy's face turned contemplative. "Well, I guess…I…I love being near you. I don't know if it's the same for you, but whenever you're close it's like my spine is vibrating. And I know it's not just a slayer thing because it's not like that when I'm around any of the other girls."

"Buzzin' all over, B," the dark slayer grinned, soaking up the unexpected attention.

Buffy took another deep breath, starting to gain momentum. "And I love how you make me take myself less seriously. Sure slaying and saving the world is a serious gig, but with you around, it makes it feel…manageable. Like when you're around, the world isn't so loud and cruel and hard. Or I love how even when I'm frustrated or nervous you can make a joke. That used to piss me off about you," she admitted, "but I know you're just as scared as me; you just respond in a different way."

"I love that you eat like it's the best thing you've ever had," Buffy continued in earnest. "And I love the way you dance like you're the only person on the dance floor. It's like you've never been self-conscious a day in your life. And when you look at me, I feel like I'm the most important person in the world."

"Is that enough?" the blonde asked with a shy smile on her face.

Faith cast her eyes away from the shorter slayer, feeling an uncharacteristic warmth creep onto her cheeks. People had complimented her before. Some had even said they loved her, too – mostly to get in her pants. Hearing the words come from Buffy Summer's mouth, however, was a new and humbling experience for the Boston girl.

"You didn't mention my bodacious body," Faith lightly protested.

Buffy chuckled and licked her lips. "I thought that was obvious."

"Well, a girl still likes to hear it, ya know?"

"I love your bodacious body, too," the elder slayer responded quietly. Buffy slipped a free hand beneath the Boston girl's t-shirt and rested her palm on the younger woman's abdomen.

"Mmmm," Faith approved, feeling her heart skip a beat at the golden-slayer's touch. "Much better."

Buffy was quiet for a moment, her hand still innocently beneath the bottom hem of Faith's t-shirt. Her fingers stroked along the toned flesh, and she gently fingered the scar beneath the brunette's shirt.

"I guess we have matching scars now, huh?" Buffy mused aloud.

"Fun stories to tell the grandkids, I suppose," Faith responded nonchalantly, willing her racing pulse to slow.

She didn't want to be so easily turned on around Buffy, but she couldn't help it. Despite her assertions that she'd never been with a girl before Faith, the golden-haired slayer certainly knew her way around a woman's body.

Buffy looked momentarily thoughtful. "I used to just say that, you know…never really thinking about kids. But now I guess there's a real possibility that I _could _be a grandma some day…if I live that long."

"You'll outlive us all, B," the brunette quipped. "You're like the Energizer Bunny."

"Speaking of batteries," Buffy started with a wicked grin. "I'm all out."

Faith raised an eyebrow. "Out?"

"In Cincinnati…you…" Buffy paused, thinking about her next words, "left something behind in the room."

The image of a small, silver cylinder flashed through Faith's memories. "Why you little minx," she murmured, narrowing her eyes mischievously.

"Oh, don't act so surprised," Buffy admonished. "Why does everyone think I'm so innocent? Hello," she announced, gesturing to her swelling stomach, "pregnant, single mom here."

Faith leaned towards Buffy and licked her full bottom lip. "I've got plenty of batteries in the bedroom," she purred.

"Stop trying to distract me," Buffy charged, pushing the Boston girl away. "You still haven't answered my question. Will you move to Cleveland with me or no?"

"I don't know, Little Miss Bossy Pants," Faith stubbornly countered. "Did you decide if love is enough?"

"Honestly? I still don't know," the blonde admitted, chewing on her bottom lip. "But I'm done with all the waiting and the distance. I miss you, Fai. I don't just want to talk to you on the phone or online. I want to…" Buffy visibly blushed, "spend the night with you and wake up and find you still there next to me. So I guess what I'm saying is," she continued, taking another breath, "just this once, let's trust the Beatles."

"You've always had a way with words," the brunette laughed, slightly shaking her head.

Buffy stuck out her lower lip. "So does that mean yes?"

"How's this for an answer?"

Faith leaned in, the ancient futon audibly protesting as she shifted her body on the thin, black mattress pad. She brushed her lips against the Californian's, pulling a small, almost indiscernible sigh from the smaller woman.

As her hands snaked their way beneath Buffy's tight t-shirt, Faith deepened the gentle kiss, pressing her mouth more fully against the blonde's lips. Faith ran her hands down the sides of Buffy's nude torso. Her fingers bumped along the small ridges of the blonde's ribcage, and stroked along her waistline. Buffy eagerly opened her mouth and pulled the Boston woman's tongue inside.

After a few moments, Buffy pulled away, feeling slightly dizzy and altogether breathless.

Faith grinned, triumphant. "Satisfied?"

The Chosen One rewarded her sister-Slayer with a sly smile. "I'm still not sure about your answer; maybe you should try that again."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Do you think I'm fat?**

_Suggested Listening: "Like a G6" – Far East Movement_

Buffy leaned against the smooth polished bar, working to get the attention of the over-extended bartender. She tried waving the twenty-dollar bill in the air, but the bar employee was either unimpressed or blind. Even leaning forward and pressing her modest breasts together failed to gain the man's attention.

Unfortunately, all of her antics had caused others to notice her. A man's voice beside her caused the slayer to halt her quest for another bottled water.

"Can I buy you a drink?" came the polite request.

Buffy turned to look into the face of the stranger –bright blue eyes and a dazzling smile greeted her. The man wasn't unattractive; he just wasn't exactly…her type.

The golden-haired woman leaned away from the bar, revealing more of her lower torso. "It all depends," she started with a smile. Buffy rested a hand on her swollen abdomen which had been hiding beneath her peasant top. "Are you gonna buy a drink for both of us?"

"I, uh," the man's eyes bulged in his head when he realized his mistake. "I'm sorry. I forgot I have to be…somewhere else," he sputtered. The man hastily threw some crumpled up money onto the bar top, paying for his tab, and stumbled away from the bar. Buffy was once again alone to fend for herself.

"Chivalry is totally dead," the blonde slayer laughed to herself.

No sooner had the stranger disappeared when arms slipped around Buffy's waist from behind, and hands rested lightly on the hipbones that peaked above the top of her elastic-banded jeans. The fashion-conscious slayer had rebelled against buying the pregnancy pants, but she certainly couldn't wear yoga and sweat pants everyday until she went into labor.

Buffy closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the gentle buzz at the base of her spine. A hand reached up to gently brush her loose blonde hair away from the side of her neck, and warm, supple lips pressed against her skin where her neck met her shoulder.

"You shouldn't be so mean to the boys," the low voice chuckled, sending chills down the blonde slayer's body. "It's not _their _fault you're so irresistible."

Buffy grinned and pressed her figure back against her partner, enjoying the way her backside seemed to naturally fit against the other slayer's front. "Well if you didn't insist on leaving me alone," she countered, "I wouldn't look so available all the time."

Faith chuckled. "After all the drinks you've been feedin' me tonight, you can't be mad that I had to pee."

Buffy turned to face the taller woman. She gave her lover a half-smile and brushed a wild lock of brunette hair away from the Boston girl's beautiful face. She loved it when the darker girl left her long, wavy hair down and it framed her face.

"No," the blonde noted. "I could never be mad at you." Her half-smile turned into a smirk. "Well, at least not for very long."

Faith dipped her head slightly to capture her partner's pink mouth with her own. Buffy's mouth tasted like mint from her gum. The pregnant slayer had been drinking water all night and it only made the freshness of her mouth even crisper.

Buffy ran her tongue along the bottom row of the Boston woman's teeth. Even though Faith tasted slightly of alcohol, the faint taste only served to turn Buffy on. She knew how fun her slayer could be when she was a little buzzed.

Tonight was a reunion of sorts. With Faith now living in Cleveland, albeit in her own apartment to assert a semblance of independence from the blonde slayer, Kennedy and Willow had taken up residency in New York City to oversee the slayer cells on the East Coast. Xander and some of the other slayers who had fought against the First had returned to Cleveland as well for the weekend.

After the chaotic events surrounding Buffy's would-be wedding, everyone had returned to their respective homes across the globe; but the Originals had made a pact to not just stay in contact, but to get together frequently. Too often extended families only see each other during emergencies or tragedies, and this demon-hunting family didn't want to only reunite during apocalyptic times.

Imperceptibly, the Boston slayer pressed her fingers between Buffy's thighs. The elder girl groaned when Faith cupped her sex. Faith captured her lover's bottom lip between her teeth and gently bit down, sending a fresh flood of arousal to the blonde's underwear.

"Uhn, why do you always do this?" Buffy gasped. Her head was swimming with a mixture of dance beats and Faith's influence.

"What's that, B?" the brunette murmured, once again kissing her way along the smaller woman's jaw line.

"You always get me so hot in public," the Chosen One breathed.

"And you're complaining?" Faith chuckled, not abandoning her task.

Buffy swooned when Faith's teeth scraped against her jugular. "N-no, n-not complaining," she sputtered, struggling to form complete thoughts.

"Then what _are _you saying?" the Boston girl asked, her breath coming in bursts against the elder woman's neck.

"We're running out of new places to have sex," the blonde pouted.

Faith groaned, and stood upright. Her face looked as though she was in pain.

Buffy gazed at her lover in alarm. "What's wrong?"

The Boston girl grimaced. "I think you just made me ruin the inside of these pants."

The golden-haired slayer looked confused momentarily before her hazel-green eyes went wide with recognition.

The sound of a nearly imperceptible scoff caught the attention of the two slayers. Buffy's teenaged sister stood near them, her arms folded across her chest and a slight smirk on her face. "God, you two," she lightly laughed. "Get a room."

The California slayer blushed under the dance club's flashing lights. She _really _hoped Dawn hadn't overheard her conversation with the dark-haired Bostonian. It wasn't that she and Faith were hiding their relationship anymore, but the thought of having her younger sister overhear anything having to do with sex was mortifying.

Coming Out to her friends hadn't been as hard as she'd imagined. Willow already had an inkling after walking in on her and Faith during the engagement party, and of course Kennedy was in the know. Dawn had squealed with joy, quickly embracing both her sister and Faith when the slayers had revealed their relationship. And Xander's remaining good eye twitched when Buffy told him the news, but even he was soon able to accept the idea of the two former enemies romantically involved.

"Don't you have someone else to bug?" the Chosen One grumbled.

The teenaged Summers girl smiled sweetly. "But it's so much fun to bug _you_, Buffy."

"What do you want, Dawn?" the blonde complained. She rubbed at her temples. Even though she loved when Dawn visited her during her college breaks, the youngest Summers girl still knew how to grate her elder sister.

The Former Key stuck her bottom lip out in a Buffy-like pout. "I'm out of money, and I'm thirsty from all the dancing."

Faith fished into her back pocket and found her duct-taped wallet. She pulled some money out of the inner pocket. "Here ya go, brat," she said, handing over a twenty-dollar bill. "Go crazy."

"Thanks, Faith!" Dawn beamed.

"You didn't have to do that," Buffy insisted as she watched her sister skip off in the direction of the bar.

"Sure I did," the Boston slayer grinned. "I'd give her everything in my wallet if it meant I got to be alone with you."

Buffy playfully slapped her partner's arm. "You have a weird way of saying sweet things."

Faith wiggled her eyebrows at her girlfriend. "So what do ya say, B?" she asked mischievously. "Wanna cut this party short and 'get a room'?"

Buffy shook her head stubbornly. "Not before I get to dance with you," she smiled.

The Boston girl took her partner's hand and pulled her in the direction of the dance floor. "Then let's stop wasting time gabbin' so we can get down to the fun stuff," she chuckled.

Buffy allowed Faith to lead the way until they found a spot on the dance floor just large enough for the two of them. The dark-haired girl spun around to face the smaller slayer when she was satisfied with their location in the club.

"Don't you think that _this _is the fun stuff, too?" Buffy asked innocently, placing her hands on the brunette's hips.

Faith's roaming hands found their way to Buffy's jean-covered backside and she pulled the small blonde even closer. "Everything we do together is fun, B," she murmured in Buffy's ear, over the music. "But some things are just _funner._"

The blonde grinned. "I don't think that's a real word," she observed cheekily.

The Boston slayer couldn't help but laugh. She twirled her partner around and pulled her back close. "So Buffy Summers is giving _me _a vocabulary lesson?"

Buffy tried to look mildly annoyed, but with Faith's body pressed into her own as they danced, it was hard to concentrate on anything else. Lately their bodies hadn't fit together quite as naturally as before, however, due to Buffy's rapidly growing abdomen.

"Do you think I'm fat?" she asked in earnest.

"Oh my God, B," Faith exclaimed, the unexpected question causing her to stop dancing. "You're not fat, you're _pregnant._"

Buffy stuck out her bottom lip. "Yeah, but it bothers me that guy didn't want to buy us a drink."

Faith shook her head and laughed. "You're such a little weirdo," she chuckled, leaning down to kiss her partner.

Buffy looked warily at the taller slayer. "As long as I'm a _little _weirdo and not a big one. I don't want you to be embarrassed by your fat girlfriend."

Faith rolled her eyes. "C'mon, babe, let's not hop on the fat train again."

"Do you still love me even though I'm fat?" Buffy pressed. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she still had to ask. Faith had always oozed sex appeal. The brunette could take home anyone, of either gender, any night of the week.

"How about this, babe?" Faith proposed. "I'll let you get as big as a house. But once you pop that little rugrat out, you'd better get your pre-pregnancy body back."

Buffy looked momentarily horrified. "You're terrible."

Faith snickered. "You know I'm just kidding. Kind of." The Boston girl rewarded her girlfriend with a dazzling smile. "There's just more of you to love, babe."

"So you _do _think I'mfat!" Buffy exclaimed.

Faith let out a disgruntled noise and shook her head. She clamped onto one of Buffy's hands and proceeded to lead her off the dance floor.

"Wait!" the blonde protested. "Where are we going?"

"To my apartment," Faith called over her shoulder.

"Why?"

"Just think of me as your personal trainer," the brunette laughed. "I'm gonna help you work off some of those extra calories."

Faith tossed her keys onto the small table in the front foyer.

"I don't know why you're wasting your money on an apartment," Buffy announced, closing the front door behind her. "We could be pooling our savings if you lived with me. Besides," she pointed out, "there's plenty of room at my house. Dawn's in Columbus at college for most of the year. It's just me and my big 'ol belly tottering around in that house."

Faith bent at the waist to pull off her boots. She and Buffy had had this conversation numerous times ever since she agreed to leave Boston and move to Cleveland. "After the baby is born, I will," the brunette reminded her girlfriend. "But for now, I want to keep my space."

"You're not feeling trapped are you?" Buffy worried aloud. She wiggled out of her jacket and hung it on a hook in the entranceway.

"No, babe. Not at all," the brunette insisted as she pulled off her shoes. "I just wanna enjoy my bachelorette-hood a little longer."

Buffy scowled at her girlfriend's response. "We're not married, you know."

Faith righted herself. "With a baby on the way and living under the same roof, we might as well be."

"Is that a proposal?"

"Hell no," the Boston-born slayer rushed out.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know the prospect of being married to me would be so insulting," Buffy huffed.

Faith captured the moody slayer in a tight, but non-crushing embrace, before the blonde could storm off. "Stop it, B," she gently chastised. "Stop trying to pick a fight with me."

The Chosen One was quiet, wrapped inside Faith's warm hold. "You really don't want to get married some day?" Buffy pouted after a moment.

"I love you, and I want to grow old with you," the dark-haired slayer noted, holding the smaller slayer at arms-length. "Isn't that the same thing?"

The blonde snorted. "Not even close, buddy."

Faith bit her tongue. She wanted to retort that Buffy had already had her chance at a wedding – she'd bought a dress, flowers, photographer, caterer, the works. But the dark brunette wasn't an idiot, and she wasn't about to say the one thing that would set off her overly hormonal girlfriend.

"How about this," the Boston girl started. She pulled Buffy back into her arms, and kissed her temple. With the gesture, she felt the pregnant slayer's figure immediately relax in her arms. "After the baby's born and I move in, we'll re-examine this topic."

"Really?" Buffy asked in a hopeful tone.

"I'm not saying we'll definitely get married or have some kind of ceremony," Faith pointed out. "I'm just saying we can talk about it again when the baby's born. Is that good enough for now?"

Buffy spun in the taller slayer's arms so she was facing Faith. "Yes."

"Good. Now kiss me," Faith ordered. "We've spent far too much time tonight talking when our mouths could be doing something more fun."

Buffy's lips twisted into a wry smile. She reached up and stroked her fingers through her girlfriend's loose hair. "Don't you mean _funner_?"

The blonde slayer let out a high-pitched squeal when Faith suddenly and unexpectedly swooped her off her feet and began to carry her back towards the bedroom.

"Put me down!" Buffy lightly protested, swinging her legs as much as she dared. "You know I hate it when you carry me."

"No way, B. You're totally in trouble now."

The Boston slayer effortlessly carried the pregnant woman back into her bedroom and plopped her unceremoniously on the queen-sized mattress. Luckily the Cleveland apartment had come fully furnished; Faith doubted her old futon would have been able to handle their recent bedroom antics.

"I need you naked like five minutes ago," the brunette nearly growled.

Wasting little time, Faith attacked Buffy's jeans, pulling them down her toned legs while the Californian worked on removing her peasant top. The dark-haired slayer quickly removed her own clothes while Buffy finished removing her bra and underwear.

The Boston slayer climbed onto the bed, her knees sinking into the soft mattress. Buffy scooted herself back towards the headboard. Faith licked her lips and drank in the sight of her completely naked lover. She never tired of moments like this – the realization that after all this time, Buffy Summers was completely hers.

It wasn't just that the sex was mind numbingly intense. Sex with Buffy had long ago proven what she'd always suspected – _Slayers did do it better. _But beyond the sweaty skin, claw marks, and multiple orgasms, Faith realized that what Buffy brought her was completion. She had never said the words aloud, however, for fear of sounding like a bad movie cliché.

Faith ran her hands along the sides of her girlfriend's body. "I don't know why you keep saying you're fat, babe," she purred, intimately stroking her fingers along miles of exposed flesh. "You know I love you body – even if it does look like you swallowed a bowling ball."

"Not helping your cause, Fai," Buffy retorted, despite feeling breathless from the Boston girl's caresses.

"How about if I do this?" the dark girl proposed as she captured a stiff nipple between her lips.

"Uhn," gasped the blonde, arching into her lover. "That's a good start." Buffy's nipples had always been sensitive, but pregnancy had only exasperated the fact.

Faith released the rosy-pink nub and smiled. "And how about this?" she continued to taunt. Holding the blonde by the hips, the Bostonian dipped her head and placed wet kisses between the elder woman's breasts, trailing her mouth down Buffy's abdomen.

"Yeah," the Chosen One panted, "keep going."

Faith released her hold on her girlfriend's hips and trailed a hand between the juncture at Buffy's thighs.

"God you're wet, B," the dark-haired slayer murmured, sliding her fingers through the elder woman's slick folds. Her digits were immediately coated with the Californian's arousal.

"Mmhmm." Buffy bit her bottom lip.

"So what do ya say, B?" Faith slipped her fingers across the golden-haired woman's clit. "Hard and fast the first time, and then slow and drawn-out for round number two?"

Buffy could only whimper her agreement.

The two slayers reclined together, naked beneath the queen-sized sheets. Buffy lay on her back, two pillows propped behind her head while Faith rested further down on the mattress, her head against the Chosen One's swollen stomach.

Faith drummed her fingertips against Buffy's taunt belly. Her skin was warm and smelled faintly salty. "Hope I didn't traumatize ya, kid," she chuckled.

Buffy ran her fingers through the brunette's dark waves and gently massaged her scalp. "I'm sure he or she will get over it," she countered with a lazy smile.

"Speaking of which…what do you think, B? Is it gonna be a boy or a girl?"

"I'll just be happy if it doesn't have a tail," Buffy reflexively quipped.

"I'm kinda hoping for a girl," Faith revealed.

Buffy sat up slightly, hefting herself up with the help of her elbows. "Really? You've thought about it?"

Faith looked up at her girlfriend. "Sure," she easily admitted. "I mean, I'm not gonna be the kid's real parent or anything, that what you and Preston are for, but if you and I are together and I'm living here, I hope you'll let be a part of the little rug-rat's life."

The brunette rested her head back on the elder slayer's stomach. "I'd love to give her everything I never had growing up," she continued wistfully. "All the girlie things that girls are supposed to have…Barbie's, tea parties, Disney princess dresses. She could even join the Girl Scouts, and we'd take her around the neighborhood selling cookies."

Buffy could feel the tears starting to prick at the corners of her eyes. "You're kind of remarkable, Faith Lehane," she choked out.

"What can I say?" the raven-haired woman stated with practiced nonchalance. "I'm full of surprises."

"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed. "I almost forgot. I've got a surprise for you."

The Boston slayer raised an eyebrow.

"Look in your nightstand," the golden-haired slayer instructed.

Faith sat up in bed, and reached across Buffy's body to open the bedside table's single drawer. She fished her hand around inside the drawer, and after a moment, pulled out a small silver object that resembled a lipstick container.

"Since I kept yours," Buffy noted, feeling slightly anxious, "I thought I should get you a new one."

The Boston girl shook her head in amazement. "Did you go to a store to get this?"

"Me? No way," Buffy squeaked. "I ordered it online."

Faith rolled the tiny toy around in the palm of her hand, and her dark eyes glimmered with mischief. "You got fresh batteries in this thing?" she asked, still staring at the small bullet-shaped vibrator.

"Yeah, I think so?"

"Good," Faith replied with a wide grin. She clicked the silver cylinder on and it buzzed to life. "Cause we're about to wear them out."

FIN


End file.
